You are loved. You are beautiful.
You probably have never heard these two truths and that is why I am telling you now.
Or, maybe, you have heard these carelessly thrown at you as a flattery to manipulate you to give up your very being that the words have lost their meaning.
And that is why I am telling you this again, straight from my heart:
You are loved. You don't have to do anything or to be anyone in order to be loved.
You are beautiful. You don't have to have porcelain skin and shiny hair in order to be considered a beauty. You don't have to stand 5'6" tall or to have perfectly-aligned teeth to be beautiful.
It is unfortunate that the world has given you wrong concepts of love and an unattainable standard of beauty.
Romance novels and movies have distorted your idea that love is all about grand surprises, walks in the park while holding hands, and passionate kisses that lead you to his bed and give up your purity. There is more to love than satisfying your needs or being the satisfaction of someone else's.
Likewise sad is the world's portrayal of beauty as depicted in glossy magazines with waif-thin supermodels made up and styled for hours by make-up artists and professional stylists. There is more to beauty than the physical body. There is more to beauty than the stylish clothes and accessories you wear.
Of course, it is quite easy to succumb to these lies the world has thrown at you. You might not even think that the world is capable of lying to you. But trust me, it does. And how do i know this?
Because I was once like you.
In my not so distant past, I was more than preoccupied of making myself physically attractive than anything else. I lost my confidence in high school when I found out that to my classmates and to the rest of the world, my misaligned teeth spelled out u-g-l-i-n-e-s-s. I dreamt of being loved and swept off my feet by my knight in a shining car and of spending every hour with him, just like in the movies and novels. I had crushes and I "loved" and was "loved" back only to be crushed by pain and to be discarded like an old toy. So, I browsed some more magazines and the Internet to search for what's hot and what's not in fashion to make myself cool. I colored my nails and had hair treatments and wore clothes which were considered in style. I shifted my thought system and allowed the world to shape me. But I never felt enough. I was happy but I felt empty. I was going around but lost.
And then, in the midst of everything, God found me. I was wretched when He found me. I was at my lowest when He found me. I was at my worst when He found me.
But He loved me, nonetheless. He loved me with a perfect and unconditional love.
He made me beautiful. And my life was never the same again.
I have found love, acceptance, and forgiveness in Christ. I have found the true value of love in His eyes. I have learned that beauty is not about what can be seen, but what He can see in my heart.
So, I want to tell you today, beautiful child of God, stop looking for love in a man. Instead, take this invitation to be loved by the Perfect Lover of all times. And let your eyes be opened to a new definition of beauty as He designed it to be.
And if you already have Him in your heart, remember that you are precious. You are already beautiful in His eyes. Do not give away your pearls to the pigs and dogs. Rest in His love alone and let Him write your perfect love story.
Trust Him. I trusted Him and He was faithful to His promises. I trusted Him and I am now living His perfect love story.
Love,
Zu
