My Account
$0.00 Cart
  • About
  • Resources
    • Stories of Hope
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Connect
  • Donate
Menu
  • About
  • Resources
    • Stories of Hope
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Connect
  • Donate
For Parents
  • About
  • Resources
    • Stories of Hope
  • For Parents
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Connect
  • Donate
Menu
  • About
  • Resources
    • Stories of Hope
  • For Parents
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Connect
  • Donate
  • About
  • Resources
    • Stories of Hope
  • For Parents
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Connect
  • Donate
Menu
  • About
  • Resources
    • Stories of Hope
  • For Parents
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Connect
  • Donate

Ideals of Beauty

  • By Girl Above
Share on facebook
Share on google
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin

I lose myself looking into the mirror

Forget who I am beneath the skin

Wonder if the girl inside is still there

Thinking could it all be different

If I could change the person standing here

.

.

Isn’t it easier to wish we could be like the person standing over there? Comparing ourselves to the things they have that we don’t. Comparing their beauty to ours? We see this cover of people that are beautiful and pleasing to the eye and wish that we could have what they have. We’ve all done it before and we look at ourselves in the mirror wishing away the parts of us we don’t like. We think that if we could change our personality, our talents, our abilities, our body, and ultimately who we are, maybe everything would be different. Maybe you would be popular, maybe you would be successful, maybe you would “matter,” but only if you could change who you are.

 

 

We forget who we are when we focus on HOW we are. How are we seen by others? How good do I look? How beautiful do I look? And we put aside the most important things that define beauty. I’ve done it, haven’t we all? Haven’t we all lost ourselves in the mirror labeling ourselves as untalented, unworthy, ugly, not enough, overweight, a failure, and the list could go on. And as I label everything about me that’s wrong on the outside, I seem to forget the very person beneath the skin. We talk ourselves into changing as much of us as we can to fit into this idea of “beauty,” forgetting the most essential values of beauty. I forget that beauty is so much more than what we present on the outside, it’s the person we decide to be with every decision, every word we speak, every thought we have, and every action we take. Most of all, beauty is captured in someone that not only lives out their life loving God but also fearing Him. The world has limited our idea of beauty to what only the eyes can see. But this beauty fades and deceives, we can present ourselves well to others, but as we build relationships and meet new people, our true self comes out, and our beauty is not defined by how we look, but how well we love and serve God and others. Beauty will fade away, but when we die our legacy of how we loved others will be remembered, not the clothes you wore, not your status on Instagram, not the grades you had.

Proverbs 31:30

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

 

 

Too many of us have fallen into the trap of society’s definition of beauty. We bring ourselves down, make ourselves throw up, go days without eating, exercise excessively to try to fit into this box that beauty has been shoved into. But remind yourself right now that you are perfect for who you are at this moment. You are loved for who you are, yes, even the worst parts of you. You are enough and worthy of love.

I am reading this book for school called Crazy Love and the first chapter pointed out how incredibly powerful and majestic our God is. I want you to stop right now and click on this link to watch this video just as they had us do in the book. As they said, “Seriously, right now, go watch it.” https://youtu.be/LpChZxPfa-c

 

Now that you’ve watched it stop and think about how incredible the galaxy, the solar system, the stars, the planets are. Think about how beautiful the sunset skies are, the stars of the night, the mountains, the ocean, every creature of the sea and on land, think about the most beautiful things you have seen, and now realize you are a million times more beautiful than that. If God created everything that is so beautiful just by speaking, how much more beautiful, valuable, and precious are you compared to these things? God takes time to form you and mold you, and breathe life into you. Who are we to criticize the bodies that He has made us into? Who are we to hate the things we don’t like about ourselves when He died for us? Who are we to tear ourselves down for the person God has created us to be?

Genesis 2:7

Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.

Psalm 139: 13-16

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

You are more than enough. You are worthy. You are loved. You are perfected through Him.

“If only our eyes saw souls instead of bodies how different our ideals of beauty would be.” Lauren Jauregui

Written By: Anna (15) 

For more of Anna's incredible writing, art and inspiration visit her site
Check Out Anna's Blog

Related Posts

I Wanted to Be Beautiful but Didn’t Believe I Was

2 Ways to Deal With Comparison

Expecting the Unexpected: How My Faith Was Tested in College

Why I Needed Quarantine

Build a Strong Relationship With Your Teen: Respond, Don’t React

PrevPreviousWhat My Faith Taught Me About My Eating Disorder
NextGod’s Presence in the OrdinaryNext

Connecting young women to wisdom, faith and confidence.

Colossians 3:2

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY OF TEENS

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY OF PARENTS

If any of these things are true for you, you shoul If any of these things are true for you, you should seek help now. Sometimes we convince ourselves that we are doing something to be “healthier” or gain control of life, but in the pursuit we may be blind to the dysfunction of the behaviors. Health and healing are possible! Visit the resources page at girlabove.com or connect with a counselor in your area for support.
.
.
.
.
#edrecovery #recovery #ana #anarecovery #eatingdisorderawareness #eatingdisorderrecovery #therapy #gethelpnow #skinny #healthy #fitnessmotivation #skinnylegs
If you have ever been bullied, you know how absolu If you have ever been bullied, you know how absolutely devastating it can be. Comment a piece of advice that you have for someone struggling to see past what other people say about them. You never know who it might help! 
.
.
.
.
#bully #bullied #mean #recovery #advice #wisdom #depressionhelp #anxietyrelief #anxiety #depressedlife
Today is National make a friend day! Get out there Today is National make a friend day! Get out there and meet someone awesome!
Word on the street is that skinny jeans are "out?" Word on the street is that skinny jeans are "out?" True or false? How do we feel about this?
What have YOU learned from forgiving someone? . . What have YOU learned from forgiving someone? 
.
.
.
.
.
#forgiveness #anxietyadvice #depressionhelp #anxietyquotes #mentalhealth #wisdom #suicideawareness #friendship
Running from our pain or problems might seem like Running from our pain or problems might seem like the easiest route, but more times than not,  this is an illusion. Genuine and lasting healing is often found along the path with no shortcuts but rather  through dealing with a situation directly or enduring the season of hardship. Eventually you will come through to the other side 🖤
In a world where EVERYTHING is tempting to define In a world where EVERYTHING is tempting to define you, label you, gain your loyalty and inform your worldview.. seek the truth. The actual truth. Not just opinions or feelings or secondhand gossip. This will require you to take pause when people say mean things to you, or when you think deplorable things about yourself.. stop and ask “is that true?” And then ask God to help you see what is true about you. Ask God to show you where you have bought into lies about yourself and others. The truth is knowable and we do not have to simply sit back and receive everything we are given. 💙
Hey girl, idk about you but i’ve spent the past Hey girl,  idk about you but i’ve spent the past year comparing every inch of myself to others. whether be on the internet or real life. and i just go over and over all the things about my body that i wish i could change. i’m not here to tell you i’ve figured it out, or that i have a new found perspective and that i all the sudden love me for me. bc honestly i’m far from that. this also isn’t a pitty party, it’s just me being open and vulnerable for a moment.  i saw this video (swipe) the other day and it shocked me. i know this isn’t something new, we all know how photoshop works. but seeing all these iconic women get their bodies transformed to some unattainable level is so disheartening. but on the plus side, i saw beyoncé have a slight double chin and it made me feel a little bit better about mine. even the perfect aren’t perfect. also, who the heck defined perfect?  i so badly want my confidence back. i so badly don’t want to worry about my appearance any more or the weight i’ve gained, all my clothes that don’t fit, or my crooked teeth or my really unfortunate haircut.  so i took a selfie. for the first time in i don’t know how many years. i intentionally sat down and took a selfie....to find some positives about myself again. to love myself again. to take one step towards building back my confidence. i’ve gotten so concerned with the outside that i have completely crumpled on the inside.  this is the only piece of advice i have right now, and you don’t have to even say it out loud, find one thing you like about yourself. start there. tell your closest confidant. tell yourself. tell God. and ask him to help replace the intrusive thoughts with kind ones.  yes i’m a mess. but i’m still here and God still sees me. the only flaws i want to be concerned about are in my character.  and as for me...i love my skin. 🖤
- @wowcharlottereally 
.
.  video credit: @gisele.ayora & @misspersephone (writing and voicing)
I’ve been reflecting on something over the past I’ve been reflecting on something over the past few weeks and I would like to share it. •  After I heard the Gospel for the first time when I was in 8th grade, I decided to invite Jesus into my heart. I was so excited about this Good News that I couldn’t not accept it. There was something different about the faith I was living out in 8th grade compared the to faith I’m living out now. 5 years ago, I loved Jesus, but I wasn’t living my life for Him. When we say “I dedicated my life to Jesus”, a lot of people don’t know exactly what that means and how to do that. A lot of people invite Jesus into their heart without living their life for Him. •  LIVING for Jesus is pursuing Him every single day. LIVING for Jesus is not just being a fan of His, but a follower of Him. LIVING for Jesus is much more than just loving Him, it’s constantly making decisions for Him and based on what His word says. •  Do you think that you’ve truly dedicated your life to Jesus to follow Him and live for Him everyday, or do you think you’ve just accepted Him into your heart? What would it look like for you to live everyday for Him?  -@torijankowski
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#girlabove #mentalhealth #jesus #faith #wisdom #ccu
Follow on Instagram

© 2021 Girl Above

Designed by Frassati Designs