Guest Writer: Rebecca Houston- Friend of Make It Joy and Regular Guest on The Make It Joy Podcast
Find her on Instagram: @rebecca_houston_
Hiding The Beauty…
I recently thought it was a good idea to volunteer to sit in the choir loft at church because of overcrowding. And you know I wound up in the dead center on the front row, and I was MEGA uncomfortable.
I was so hot I had worn my winter clothes since it was randomly Summer in early March.
I was sweating and embarrassed.
So, I just looked at my bulletin and let my hair stay in front of my face. Looking down trying to be unseen.
Is there any way my beauty was shining in that moment?
No. My inward cry to hide was showing my insecurities and uncomfortable presence more than anything else.
Imagine Instead…
Imagine my fears and insecurities not getting the best of me. Imagine I’m glowing!
Singing, smiling, praising God with abandon, radiating my adoration front row center in the choir loft.
Beauty Inside, Beauty Outside…
The saying “beauty lies within” is absolutely true. Beauty is the overflow of the spirit, energy, and love within a person. Physical beauty can be overshadowed or enhanced by the inward self. Do you reflect your inward beauty or inward fear?
Beauty is complicated. There are unattainable standards that overshadow the beauty in the mirror. Don’t let that waste your time, there is value and beauty in exactly who you are.
Divine Beauty In Every Day Things…
As a Christian, I believe there is so much beauty in all of us as we reflect the beauty of our creator. But even just as a person, I am in awe of the beauty as someone throws pottery, or shows an act of great kindness, or has their hair all done up with a cute outfit! How beautiful is a dancer and an artist so in tune with their craft? Or the mother smiling and kissing her child enthralled with her love for them? Beauty can show through authenticity, confidence, kindness, and self-care.
Beauty Is As Beauty Does…
Are you allowing yourself to wear things that make you joyful? Are you allowing your personality and unique qualities to shine? Are you focusing on your good or allowing insecurities to dull your shine?
Do you love others and show kindness to them? Any physical characteristics will be overshadowed or enhanced by the way you treat others. People make me feel so much more than any physical trait.
Give To Your Beauty…
Are you caring for yourself? If you don’t, nobody else will do it for you.
We are like little houseplants. We need sunshine, water, attention, cleaning, etc.
It matters if you’ve showered, fixed your hair, brushed your teeth, been drinking water, and are eating healthy foods. It matters if we rest and move our bodies, spend time in community and with our creator. Not only do those things enhance our beauty on the outside, they do on the inside as well.
If you feel good it shows.
The Beauty Struggle…
As someone without a stellar support system, having children has really done me in.
My mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical self have greatly suffered. My Post-Partum Depression has looked a lot like self-neglect, just to preserve enough to give to others around me.
And now as my son is almost a year and a half, I am looking around with an empty vessel ready to focus on my little house plant of me. Caring for her, giving honor to the body that has given me two precious children and endured hard pregnancies and two c-sections. Giving honor for the mental and emotional endurance I’ve had to have all of these years.
In times of questioning. Where is my relief and expectation of God’s miracles when He wasn’t quick to move on my behalf as my colic baby screamed through the night? Holding my faith and growing in my endurance.
God Is Working For Our Beauty…
Before I was asked to write this, I had written in my prayer journal for God to grow me in my beauty.
And if you want to, grow with me.
Let’s water and nourish ourselves. Let’s move, let’s show kindness, let’s glow! Shining, knowing our beauty and worth.
All Monthly Theme Content: Celebrate Beauty
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