When I was in elementary and junior high school I had a friend who was the cute one. She was the tan one, the pretty one, the one that if we were at Six Flags and the boys came over to talk to us, they’d fall in step next to her to talk to her.
And she was pretty. So much so that I always felt ugly next to her.
I was overweight, my hair was too dark and my skin was too pale. My haircut never looked like the picture in the magazine {even though I tried} and the clothes I picked out were never quite the right style.
And I was too tall.
My friend was small, cute and well, just cute. When you are 12 and all the boys are all small too, being tall isn’t cool.
Inside the awkward years no one ever tells you that you are IN the awkward years. And no one ever says that there may be one in 50 people who never have awkward years. That that kind of beauty is something you are born with, maintain even through puberty and emerge as a stunning nineteen year old. {You still know her, right? The girl whose six-pack magically appears 2 days after giving birth.}
For all intents and purposes it’s all the same girl. She was always pretty and will still be when she’s 97.
For the rest of us, the human kind, the kind with occasional warts and belly fat and skin that still breaks out, it is harder to feel beautiful.
I may be in a sea of normal girls and regular people, but standing next to beauty still makes me feel small.
God says that everything is beautiful in it’s time.
It took a long time before I ever felt pretty. And in honesty, it is not a given. I feel ugly most of the time and I have to beat my brain and heart into submission.
You are beautiful.
You are redeemed.
You are chosen.
And in God’s eyes, we are all the “beautiful ones.”
Dayspring has a beautiful product line called Redeemed. Today I get to give away two of the Everything Beautiful Decorative Lanterns.
To enter to win one of them {I have one in my guest room}, simply leave a comment about when you have felt the most beautiful.
Please only one comment per person. Giveaway closes at 9pm Pacific time on Thursday night. I’ll announce the random winners on my Facebook community page at that time.
When have you felt the most beautiful?
Click to see more details on the Everything Beautiful Decorative Lantern.
To shop Dayspring, click here.
I felt the most beautiful on my wedding day. And I do still know that beautiful girl. The one I always felt ugly next to. She is one of my dearest friends but still, I have to fight to not compare myself to her. Great post Sarah. I needed to read this today.
Standing in the middle of the river in the El Yunque rainforest last month watching a double rainbow form from the the summer rain and the amazing sunbeams lighting me up. We were there to celebrate my 50th birthday with an adventure. My husband had gotten out of the river with the rest of our group and I was standing there in waist deep ice cold water wondering how in the world I had gotten there.
Then the sun broke through, the rainbows formed and God whispered to my heart, “You’re here because I love you. Happy birthday, Beauty!”
I felt the most beautiful when I was pregnant with my son. I felt like I glowed!
I feel the most beautiful when my husband only has eyes for me and no one else around us.
Sarah,
I truly felt AMAZINGLY beautiful right after I gave birth to my first son, Luke. Despite exhaustion, sweat, and bodily fluids everywhere, my heart and soul came alive when I first laid eyes on my son. That is real beauty…i have to remind myself. Not the makeup and perfect hair day and hip outfit all put together like a magazine photo shoot.
i was sitting alone on a creek bank, with God and a song, and he spoke deeply to my heart that i was brave and beautiful. i didn’t believe it was really him saying that to me until the song lyrics repeated as “yes, YOU, you’re beautiful” – it was one of the times i’ve actually believed God, and held onto truth. it slips away from me so easily.
I think I felt my very most beautiful on my wedding day…
I feel the most beautiful when my kids tell me. It’s just something extra special from their precious mouths.
The day I felt the most beautiful was the day I dropped my daddy off at the bus stop on my way to work. He looked deep into my eyes, it felt like he looked into my heart. He said, “mija, you look so pretty.” He walked to the bench at the bus stop, , and with the biggest smile on his face, he waved goodbye. When I arrived home from work that evening, he had already gone to meet the Lord in heaven. My cup still runs over, in remembrance of that feeling the Lord blessed me with, a true moment of beauty.
I think I felt most beautiful on my honeymoon with my husband ( almost 20 years ago) . We were newly married and I was so in love ! I look at you Sarah and think how in the world could she not feel beautiful ? Because you are!
Sarah, I used to say no one told me my teenage years would be like one continuous wedgie–ugly, uncomfortable, and incredibly awkward.
I felt most beautiful after I was so ill I didn’t think I would survive, I opened my eyes to my husband who just said, ” I prayed for you”. My husband isn’t a big prayer so this made me feel so very beautiful x
I feel the most beautiful anytime my husband smiles at me
Oh yes…tall is *not* cool when you’re 12! I learned to slouch about that time just so I could {try to} fit in with all my petite, cute friends. Sigh. And as you so aptly stated, those ugly fears and feelings sometimes stay with us girls well past the awkward years.
You are beyond beautiful, Sarah Markley. A light to others, a breath of fresh air. Oh, how I love you!