Friday, January 22, 2010

Pause at the Mirror: How to Be Confident in Your Appearance

"I looked in the mirror," said the woman, "and it was not my friend."

How often do you encounter a passing mirror and grimace in distress at your image? How often do you apply a quick pat, a twitch, a tweak, a dab of paint, and hope that the world will somehow overlook your flaws and be enchanted by your beauty?

I've learned to laugh at myself and not take my appearance too seriously. I have a chronic illness, I see the accruing damage it's done, and I've had to accept the possibility that the vision of gorgeousness that's surely hidden in me somewhere may never be revealed to the world.

CAN I BE CONFIDENT IN MY APPEARANCE?
Have you ever met a girl who was unwaveringly confident in her appearance? I mean in her private moments as well as the public ones. I've met cocksure gals whose pride in their appearance is a cover for their secret insecurity, and I guarantee there's not a woman on this planet who when honestly examining herself does not flinch. How, then, does a woman develop confidence in her appearance?

THE SECRET I DISCOVERED
The good news is that a priceless, timeless value lies in my inner beauty, beauty that reflects the nature of Christ. Placing primary significance on this gives me a confidence in who I am and how I look that cannot come from what I see in the mirror.

The body passes away. The soul is eternal. When was the last time you peered at your soul? Did you grimace? What attention did you give to it?--as much and as often as you do to the preparations of your outward appearance?

I pray that we'll develop a passion to "put on Christ" as our inner beauty treatment, and be as devoted to it as we are to our outer body care.

Image No. 1: Shadows distort shape and highlight flaws.
Image No. 2: No makeup, just positioned at a different angle to the light source.

Check how you're positioned to the light source, Jesus Christ!


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Note: We are very sorry about the missing images in this post. They were tragically and irreversibly gobbled by Google+.