what makes a woman beautiful?

Dashing and outgoing? Confident and self-assured? Fun and light-hearted?

It is easy to create a costume for ourselves.

An outer shell we live in, that tells the world who we are.

And we really can choose what people see.

We pattern ourselves after others, while missing the grand design of who we already are.

We adorn ourselves with colorful external attributes, when the golden thread of our master’s hands far outshines our choices.

We zip ourselves into our uniform of the woman who “has it all together“.

Those costumes are heavy and ill-fitting.

Eventually, we will crumble under the weight.

Desperately we might try to patch ourselves back together.

But why?

Those people that model the ideal lives, that some part of us craves?

They might just be wearing a busted up, duct-taped costume themselves. Longing to take it off and be accepted for who they really are.

Try on something new. Unzip yourself and toss that outer garment into the trash. It isn’t needed.

For you, YOU, have so much to offer just being who you really are.

We don’t need to be someone else. The world needs people who are good with numbers, can create schedules, envision new recipes, wipe away tears, give encouragement, be loyal, love on children, minister to the elderly.

What makes a woman beautiful inside and out

Whatever we take for granted, the very thing that might seem normal and ordinary, is just what the world is waiting for.

Don’t discount who God created you to be.

Listen, everyone…e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e, has hangups and questions. That is human. But let’s work on remembering we are God’s handiwork.

No costume could ever come close to outshining who we really are. Let’s confidently step out this week, wearing our true identity.

Ephesians 4:24 So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.