I once read a story of a girl who wanted to be beautiful. She'd heard of a fountain that would make her pretty if she stepped inside of it at a certain time. Every year at that certain time, she would attempt to climb in, but every time an angel would say, "Not yet. Go home and work on this area of your character, then come back." Each year she would try harder to be a better girl, and finally, one year, the angel didn't tell her to go home and do something else. But he told her she didn't need the fountain because she already looked beautiful - the good things she was doing radiated through her face and made it pleasant to look at.
Though this story obviously has some problems, (I don't have time to critique it today,) what struck me most as I read this was that the girl spent her whole life trying to be beautiful!!
Most girls are insecure and have an exaggerated focus on beauty, so I thought it was time for a {different} post on beauty.
This is not your regular 'be-you-tiful' self-pump blog post that will deflate as soon as you close the tab and see a picture of a model. If you understand this, it will change your life.
Listen to (or read) closely to the following story.
There was once a potter who lived on a row of houses close to a muddy field, which supplied the clay he used to form his pottery. This potter was world renown and his shop was usually overrun with tourists and pottery students who sought to gain some skill from him. Every morning he checked how much mud was in his box. If not enough, he would take a walk to the field and gather more.
On one such morning in which he didn't have enough clay in his box to last the day, he took the short trip to the clay field. Dreaming up the plans for the first project that morning, he reached down and grabbed a handful of clay.
To his surprise, shock, and wonder, the clay stung him, shook his hand violently, then slipped back into its place in the ground! Confused and amazed, he took a few steps and tried again. The same thing happened. Not sure what to do, he stamped the clay in his frustration and tried again. What was wrong with this clay?! Remembering that shovels don't have nerves, he ran back, grabbed his shovel, chucked some clay into the box, and looked in. The box was stable, but the clay was swooshing backward and forward. To say the least, the potter was astounded and appalled, but as he had no other source of clay, he took it back to his shop and took out a handful to work with on his potter wheel. The sting was annoying, but bearable.
He began to mold and shape it, enjoying, as he always did, the art of transforming dirt into a wonderful masterpiece. Suddenly he heard an angry voice cry out,
"What are you making?!"
The potter looked around. He was alone. What was that voice?
"What are you doing with me?!" it cried again.
"Who, what?" the potter answered, looking around.
"I like the way I am - don't change me!" cried the clay.
The potter stood motionless in the middle of the room. Then he laughed.It filled the room and the echo made the clay tremble. Yet he laughed, unable to stop. Soon neighbors were peering in through the windows, and the clay was thoroughly ashamed, though still obstinate in its determination not to be changed.
The potter started to calm down when his little boy came in, questioning him about his laugh.
"This clay here doesn't want to be changed!" he explained. Soon father and son were rolling on the floor and crying tears of laughter, while the clay sat, waiting for an explanation.
"Look, clay," began the boy, "I don't think you understand. Father is a potter - the best potter in the world, and everybody knows it. Potters turn clay like you into beautiful pottery like... well, wait a minute." The boy ran away and returned with a pitcher his father had made - one of his favorite pieces. Engraved all around was the picture of a girl gathering water from a spring, decorated with flowers and shrubberies. "Besides being beautiful, this pitcher is useful. Just like in the picture on the side of the jar, somebody will probably use this pitcher to fetch water, or they could use it to store grain. There are many uses for pottery, whereas clay like you can only be trodden upon."
To finish the story, the clay realized his intense folly and begged to be made into a piece of pottery - and the potter was happy to carry on.
“Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?
~ Isaiah 45:9
Maybe you don't look in the mirror and say, "Yes, my nose is nicer than so-and-so's," or "I'm a lot prettier than so-and-so." But I bet you do look in the mirror and say, "I wish ------, -------, --------, ----- + -----" or "I'm ugly."
One time my brother told me that one difference between girls and boys is that boys look in the mirror and see what they like about themselves, and girls look in the mirror and complain.
SO. TRUE. But please understand this: complaining about or wishing your appearance was different is ungratefulness in a very explicit way. It is saying to the One who forms you, "What are you making?" It is, like in the story above, being clay and protesting to the actions of the Master Potter who is able to fearfully and wonderfully knit you together in your mother's womb.
As that verse says,
I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works and that my soul knows very well.
~ Psalm 139:14
Chances are, you've likely heard that verse many times, so you didn't read it. But does your soul know Very Well that when God fearfully and wonderfully created you, it was a
Marvelous work? That He created you exactly the way you are for a specific reason? It was His will that you look the way you do. God doesn't keep a bucket of extra parts and draw numbers out of a hat to create you.
Known to God from eternity are all His works.
~ Acts 15:18
From eternity God knew exactly what you would look like. He had a purpose that He would carry out in due time when you were born.
And you know what? I don't believe God thinks one color of eyes are prettier than another.
I don't think He prefers one nose shape over another.
All variations of skin colors He loves.
I bet all the different shades and hair types please Him.
Different body shapes are beautiful to Him.
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
~ Matthew 6:26
On the other hand, though, I think it is extremely important for us to understand that being proud of the way we look is ALSO protesting our Maker! It is shoving Him out of the way and saying "I don't need you thank you very much." It is claiming HIS marvelous creation as our own.
The ONLY correct way to look in a mirror is with humility and thankfulness!
Sometimes while reading through Scripture, I am very convicted and have to immediately repent + turn the other direction from a worldview or an action. One of the best examples so far of this is below.
I used to be very discontent with the shape of my legs. It was a big deal to me! I wanted straight legs, with no curves whatsoever, but my legs are not 'perfectly' straight. Part of the reason they were a bit unshapely was because I wasn't exercising enough, and they lacked muscle tone, but the other reason was just that that was the shape of my legs! Sometimes I would ask mama, "Are my legs okay?" and she would laugh and say, "Kina, your legs are fine! They just lack muscle tone." Then she would pat them and say, "Why don't you put exercising in your schedule? Run around the property a couple times, or jump on the re-bounder." But I was too lazy and didn't like the idea of stretching myself, so I would try to be content with my legs.
{The next part of the story I will summarize. I can't remember if it happened before or after I read the verse, or in the middle, but I did start exercising at some point. Our family started playing Ultimate twice a week at a pick-up game daddy started, and my legs are gradually gaining muscle tone.}
One day I came across a verse. After I read it, it was like everything went straight in my head. Here's the verse:
He does not delight in the strength of the horse;He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. ~ Psalm 147:10
He doesn't take pleasure in the legs of a man? You mean God's not up there worrying about the shape of my legs?! Oh!
Then I saw the next verse:
The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him; in those who hope in His mercy. ~ Psalm 147:11
These 2 verses are contrasts - the Lord doesn't take pleasure in this, but He does take pleasure in this. From these verses I learned that #1: God doesn't worry about our appearance. While He loves us, He doesn't look in the mirror with us and say, "ugh" with us. He also doesn't look in the mirror for hours on end with us. And he doesn't spend hours searching Pinterest for weight-loss programs. Appearance is not the top thing on His priority list. It's not a big deal to Him whether I look 'perfect' or not. Therefore, it shouldn't be to me.
But, #2:, he DOES take pleasure in those who fear Him! That's what IS a big deal. We should fear Him and depend upon + hope in His mercy.
If reading through that paragraph you began to think that God doesn't care about your appearance, I apologize. There is nothing God doesn't care about or have an opinion about. It's clear to me from Scripture that we are to dress in a way that is beautiful and make ourselves pleasant to bring the most glory to God, though we should not prioritize our outward appearance over the state of ours and others' souls. I have seen many a girl who is - wow - drop-dead gorgeous, but who lacks a meek, quiet, joyful, submissive spirit, and that isn't beautiful! By saying God isn't worried about my appearance, I mean that, for example, He wants Kingdom work and the state of souls to be more important to us than having long and perfectly curled eyelashes.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness...
~ Matthew 6:33
We need to stop spending so much time worrying about, trying to fix, or being proud about our looks and start jumping into Kingdom work, which will last for every single bit of eternity, but our bodies will all decay in graves some day.
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price;therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
~ 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Have Thine Own Way, Lord
Have Thine own way Lord Have Thine own way Thou art the potter I am the clay Mold me and make me after Thy will While I am waiting yielded and still Have Thine own way Lord Have Thine own way Search me and try me Master today Open mine eyes, my sin show me now As in Thy presence, humbly I bow. Have Thine own way Lord Have Thine own way Wounded and weary help me I pray Power all power surely is Thine Touch me and heal me Savior Divine Have Thine own way Lord Have Thine own way Hold o'er my being absolute sway Fill with Thy spirit till all shall see Christ only, always living in me.
~ Adelaide A. Pollard