True Beauty

This rosacea journey has prompted the question of “what is true beauty?”  As women and for even very young ladies, we are taught through the world that our beauty is what others decide. People might say it is beautiful unblemished skin, perfect facial features, long, lustrous hair, and a toned body.  And when that doesn’t fit into our world, we feel ugly, unaccepted, and it even causes us to hide from others.  Why have we allowed society to determine our definition of beauty? 

Why do we try to hide our not-so-perfect features?  Why can’t we see beauty in the midst of acne, rosacea, hair loss, bodies that don’t function like they do for others, bodies that we wish were different?  Being forced to go without makeup during rosacea challenges, helped me to find my true beauty.  Beauty can be found in the things we don’t like so much about ourselves.  It’s in the imperfection that beauty shines through.  We are hard on ourselves, but if we were to ask others, they would say it’s our unique features that are so beautiful.  When we look at other women and think, “I wish I looked like her”, she might be thinking the same thing about the very thing in you that you don’t like so much! 

Rosacea actually gave me confidence to not feel like I have to cover up every blemish.  Why does society look at acne, for example, differently than it looks at any other medical condition?  Why must one feel like she must cover visible imperfections to feel accepted?  It’s actually really freeing to run to the store and not really even care what someone might think of that big cyst on your forehead!  By not constantly covering every single skin condition, we force society to think about its reaction to visible health conditions, and perhaps we might even change what society considers true beauty.

And yet, it isn’t Rosacea that tells me I’m beautiful.  It’s God, Himself!  He just used this journey to be a teaching moment for me.  He tells me in I Peter 3:3-4 that “your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.  Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”  This encourages me to dig into His Word so my heart can be changed by God and others can see that inner beauty shine outward.  He made you and me in HIS Image, too!  Celebrate today how God made you, ladies!  He does not make mistakes, and in Psalm 139, He tells us we are fearfully and wonderfully made!  I challenge you today to love how God made you, full of blemish and full of beauty all at the same time.  There is no one else like you, so embrace those attributes you have that are yours alone.  It defines your true beauty!

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