“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as a man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
There are deep dark circles under my eyes with lines as deep as the grand canyon around them and my nose is similar to a baboon’s. 😉 However with the wonders of make-up all of these outward imperfections can be ‘fixed’. Or at least have the illusion of disappearing. The question is, when I look at myself in the mirror is what I see on the outside a reflection of what I feel about myself on the inside?
There is a vulnerability a woman possesses when she goes without her make-up that can be appealing. When we show nothing but the light of the love of God that shines from the inside out there is a sense of attraction, it is like an energy that draws you in. I have a few friends that are gorgeous with their make up cleverly applied in a way that I envy. However, when I see them clean faced and natural it’s like I suddenly have a desire to protect them, that the light that shines through is so pure and precious that it should not be defiled.
Don’t get me wrong…I’m not boycotting make-up! 😉 I do believe there is a fine gift in artistry to enhance and highlight someone’s best features with an application of color. Check out what the artist O.P did for me this weekend:
The problem is no matter how hard I try to replicate what O.P did I end up looking more like an abstract painting rather than a fresh landscape. 🙂 Back to the question at hand, ‘Is what I see on the outside a reflection of what I feel on the inside?’… I know that when I first gave my life to God I had never felt more clean. His light literally burst from within and I finally could see myself differently in the mirror. I could look at myself in the mirror and feel the need to protect the person I was seeing.
Do I still see these ‘imperfections’ of age that have taken claim to my face over the years? Yes. Do I still wish to cover them up with some color and highlight my eyes or smile so as to detract from these imperfections? Yes. But do I care more about what God sees in my heart than what stage of age I show? YES. More than ever, as I creep closer and closer to the natural progression of finding my way to Heaven (as we are ALL going to find that time does run out…) I’m more focused on the natural beauty of my heart than the beauty of my appearance.
Yesterday I was asked to unearth a few pictures of my childhood for the video interview I did in New York for ‘Call on Faith’ with the Odyssey Network. I found a picture that brought me back to the days of the greatest amount of insecurity and unrest. (Not to mention why did my parents make me go out like this?) 😉
When I see this picture my heart fills with LOVE…love for this young girl who has already seen so much in her life and is now facing the personal struggle of insecurity and lack of self-worth. Desperate to not give up so she can not only look good on the outside but embrace it on the inside.
I’ll never forget a vulnerable moment when I was this age and my mom found me crying in my bedroom. She brought me into her room and pulled out an old photo album she kept in her dresser that I had never seen before. She turned to a page and pointed to a picture of her when she was 12. She had a head of curly hair (a perm gone wrong) buck teeth and in my opinion at the time looked hideous. But I looked at my mom in front of me and all I could see was sheer beauty. “Shannon, you are beautiful,” she said. “Let time run its course and allow your true inner beauty to be revealed. You are gorgeous, you just can’t see it right now.”
The world is harsh with judging the outer beauty but remember it is the Lord that is the only one true judge and he looks at the heart.
Blessings
Shannon