If you’re reading this, I’m SO happy you are here!
This post is similar to something I posted on one of my social media accounts, and a lot of people reached out and told me they needed to hear it or they were touched by it, so I decided to share it here too!
One of the most on-fire-for-Jesus people I have ever met has recently been focusing on ‘dying to flesh’. Basically, this means trying to get rid of anything the body says it needs, other than Jesus (other than necessities such as food, water, etc. of course). His experiences have been difficult but worth it, and it’s made me realize what Things of the Flesh, or Things of This World that are keeping me from Christ and who I am in Him.
And let me tell ya, the list of worldly things that shift my focus away from the eternal is huge.
So I decided to start small. One day I had just gotten out of the shower, and didn’t have any time to do my hair or makeup before running out the door for class. When I got home, I looked in the mirror and was honestly disgusted by what I saw. I’m the kind of person who never leaves my room without at least concealer and mascara on my face. It’s like a shield; I don’t feel at all secure without it.
I know what happened next was God tugging on my heart. I read one of my friend’s blog posts and she went without makeup for an entire year. I thought to myself, “I don’t want to feel ugly in my truest, rawest form. I’m tired of being so reliant on makeup and spending so much time on my face before leaving every day.” So, I challenged myself to go the rest of the week without makeup. It made me realize a lot of things.
The first day was hard. I felt so gross and self conscious all day. As the week went on, it was easier and I felt better about myself.
Here’s the point of the story: God created us without makeup. If He thought I needed darker eyelashes, pinker lips, more evenly toned skin, He would have made me that way.
We should not feel uglier when we are at our most bare and raw state. That state is exactly how God made us. It does not need anything added to it to make it better or more beautiful. When you look at a flower, usually you just admire it’s beauty. If it’s a real flower, it probably has a small piece that’s wilting or a hole eaten out of it. But that’s never the part we think about. We think about how incredible it is that God makes something so beautiful and gives it to us to admire. We don’t say “yeah, it’s okay, but maybe we should add some of this to make it better”. It should be the same for us.
We are even more beautiful than flowers. When God created the world, He said “It is good.” about everything He made except for us humans. He created us and said “It is VERY good”. If we are very good and everything else–the stars, flowers, animals–why would we see the need to add things to ourselves to make ourselves ‘more beautiful’?
I’m not saying wearing makeup is bad. I’ll probably end up wearing it again yet this weekend. But, if you feel uglier without makeup, maybe it’s time to consider taking a break from it until you see the natural, perfect way God created you as beautiful.
