It’s an early morning in March and snow is softly falling outside, each flake strikingly beautiful and different as they make their way down to their final destination. Some landing on the ground, joining the blanket that covers the earth, others embellish the bare branches, and a few land on the backs of the fluffy snowbirds pecking at seeds that have fallen from the feeder.

Admiring this serene scene I’m taken back by how pretty it is -- collectively and individually the snowflakes are stunning. They remind me of us women, we’re all so different and all so perfectly made by our Father.... it’s incredible. But, how many young women believe deep down inside that they are perfectly put together? It’s really not our first instinct, is it?

Somewhere along the lines we’ve traded the confidence of knowing that we are beautifully crafted by the hand of God to believe that if only we were ____________ God (and other people) would love us more.

The sneaky thing about this tactic that Satan uses to distract us is that it’s so subtle. As you walk through the mall and see the “perfect” but fake models, how do you feel? When you flip through magazines and see articles and advertisements that promise to make you thinner, smarter and prettier, does it change the way you think about the woman you see in the mirror? When you spend time with that girl at work or school who seems to have it all together, do you feel like you haven’t arrived?

I haven’t always loved all of me. There have been many times when I wished that I were thinner and more outgoing. Times when I’d thought that I could be more useful for God if only I was more talented! I’m so grateful that Jesus has taken the time to show me that He loves me and has made me the way I am for a reason. He has shown me that I too have gifts and talents, things that He created me with to fulfill the plan He has for my life! My gifts and the heart that He’s given me are perfect for bringing Him glory.

I’ve come to realize that He thinks I’m beautiful because of what comes from inside of me.

I want to resolve to be more like Him, to be beautiful from the inside out. To radiate the fruits of the Spirit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” -Galatians 5:22,23 (ESV)

The “beauty” that the world seeks after is fake, it’s a lie and it’s unattainable.

Do you really love the woman that God made you to be? You are His daughter, the child of the King of Kings, you are a Princess. Genesis 1:27 says “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” The God who paints sunsets and butterflies, and orchestrates the choirs of birds in the rainforest created YOU, individually, uniquely, perfectly.

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139:14 (ESV)

God thinks that you are wonderful. He thinks that you are beautiful because He made you to look like Him and He sees the unfading beauty that is in your heart.

“But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” 1 Peter 3:4 (ESV)

You are a Princess, so don’t be held captive by the lies that you are bombarded with in this world, because in Christ you are perfect.

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Proverbs 31:30 (ESV)

Whatever it is that you battle in the back of your mind, the things that you think when you catch a glimpse of yourself walking past a store window, let them go! As a woman after God’s heart you have been empowered with gifts that are awaiting your discovery. The beauty that you possess goes far beyond what you look like on the outside; it surpasses what  others think of you, because it’s been placed inside your heart by the One who deeply loves you.

Nothing you think you need to change about yourself will make God love you more; not the style of your shoes, or the size of your dress or the number on the scale.  You are free to love the woman inside you today and free to love others. Just like each beautiful sparkling snowflake, be confident in believing that you were made perfectly...you were made with love.

// image by erica lynn