Redefining Beauty

perfection: the thing little girls write about in their journals. they find that one high school girl that passes them in the hallway that they so badly want to be, only to years later have the roles reversed. then they see that perfection looks a whole lot like emptiness and exhaustion. because perfection can never be obtained, it can only be strived for. it's a race that the world tells you to start running, all while the enemy is snickering behind your back because he knows you will never stop running. you never win. you never get to the finish line. perfection is only a silhouette that we endeavor.

people say, "beauty is pain," but we have misinterpreted those words. it is not starve yourself. it is not sleep with the boy. it is not workout until you are a size zero. it is not hold back the tears because cover girls don't ruin their makeup. but beauty is pain right? i think it is but not in that way.

it is the painful moments in life that take us like clay in the potters hand, sculpt us and refine us, but maybe leave unwanted scars. it is the doors that slam in our faces that redirect our paths back to him. it is us choosing to sing even when it hurts like hell. it is walking away from the friend group that is leading you astray. it is the imperfections that we have a hankering to get rid of. it is jesus on a cross, enduring pain like we will never know. did anyone watching at calvary think "this is beautiful?" not at all, but three days later beauty got redefined.

so beauty, it's usually the complete opposite of how we are defining it. we don't see what god sees. what we see is always being woven together for a greater story, proven at the cross. strive not for perfection. because perfection is a desert that never experiences grace raining down. and grace, grace is really beautiful.

jesus changed the script. maybe we can change the script of the younger girls diary entires. because right now they praise the image and can't see the light that shines deeper than eyes can find. they can't see, and part of it is our fault. we have blinded them with our deception. we don't have to be perfect. they don't have to be perfect. so for all the girls who are hurting and trying, let's point them to the right mirror, to see the real image. because once they see him, they can see themselves. created in his image. all of us.

[all the grammer mistakes and lack of capital letters is because of this was written on my phone on a bus ride to a volleyball game.]