Day 4- "Captivating"

Each day I begin with a prayer. (I used to not do this to be honest, but since starting this challenge I have made it a priority of mine. My days are now filled with constant prayer). And each day so far I have felt the Lord lay on my heart a focus to share with you all. Let me be clear, I am not a preacher or a person of any authority to any of you. As I type each word I am learning and growing with you all as well. This blog is acting as a therapy to get my thoughts out of my head and to consciously think about what the Lord is doing in my life. To learn and to grow you have to be intentional. The Lord has laid on my heart to speak about a topic I believe is so relevant in every girl’s life. Whether you are single, dating, or happily married, or even a BOY, I believe we can all get something out of this. This has been a topic I have spent so much time thinking about and learning more about recently and I would love to share what I have found.

To start off, I have been reading the book ‘Captivating’ by John & Stasi Eldredge. (Ladies, if you haven’t read this book I HIGHLY recommend it. Men, the book that complements this one for guys is called ‘Wild at Heart’ by the same author). In it, this couple talks about three desires every woman holds deep in their hearts (‘Wild at Heart’ talks about the men’s three desires). Three dreams that every woman holds because God placed them there. Every woman “longs to be swept up into a romance, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, and to be the beauty of the story”. The desire that has been prevalent in my life lately has been ‘to be the beauty of the story’. Oh, how I have craved for so long to be that. But when they talk about being the beauty of the story, they aren’t just referring to physicality. I wish I could just quote the whole chapter allotted to beauty, but that would take up too much space and I will let y’all read it for yourselves. But, I will share some of my favorite parts in this chapter that really spoke to me.

[page 133] “Beauty is what the world longs to experience from a woman…Beauty is an essence that dwells in every woman. It was given to her by God. It was given to you.”

God is the One who gave us our beauty to share with the world. Every woman has her own beauty inside of her (even me, and even you).

[page 134] “Beauty is the most essential and, yes, the most misunderstood of all the feminine qualities. We want you to hear clearly that it is an essence every woman carries from the moment of her creation. The only things standing in the way of our beauty are our doubts and fears, and the hiding and striving we fall to as a result.”

[page 136-137] “She knows in her quiet center where God dwells that he finds her beautiful, has deemed her worthy, and in him, she is enough.”

How comforting that is to hear that the Creator of all things finds each of us BEAUTIFUL and WORTHY (You too boys!! In your own ways). With a statement like that I feel so much more at peace about myself. In HIM she is enough. In the LORD we are all enough. Society’s standards are far below the standards the Lord gives us, yet He already tells us we are accepted and loved and all we have to do is strive to know and follow Him. I don’t know about you, but weighing those two options I would much rather delight myself in the Lord and receive complete acceptance, than try so hard to have society delight in me and never reach that level of approval. I have tried the latter and have continually, miserably failed, and now that I am trying the former I am already finding my heart so much more fulfilled than it has ever been.

As I was writing that previous paragraph, a friend of mine sent me this verse. (The Lord has been so comically punctual when it has come to friends sending me verses or messages—they always relate to the subject I am thinking/writing about) [Editor’s Note- I take to heart each and every one of the verses and words of encouragement you send to me, even if they don’t make it into my blog J]

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galations 1:10

Not wearing makeup is not an act to please people or one that would win approval of human beings. Not wearing makeup is an act to let go of myself and my worldly obligations to ‘look a certain way’ and to ‘feel beautiful in society’s eyes’, and to find my true identity and beauty in the Lord’s eyes. I am no saint, but as I am seeking the Lord’s approval instead of society’s, I am finding so much joy in my heart and contentment in my soul.

This world is so filled with fraud and lies and hurt. I didn’t realize how so many of us were craving truth, something real- something we could actually relate to. And we flock to it like sheep seeking guidance. The only real Truth left in this world is Christ. And when we see Him manifest Himself, we can do nothing but run into His welcoming arms and never look back.

I looked in the mirror today and saw a bare face again. But to my pleasure I also saw a sparkle in my eye, a sparkle that was connected to my heart. I saw my heart today, y’all, and I really, really liked what I saw. For the first time today I genuinely smiled at the person looking back at me in the mirror. Today has been such an eye-opening and heart-warming experience internally and it is because I have been diligent in seeking Him in all aspects of my life. God truly works wonders when you are open to allowing Him to do so. Today has been a good day.

I ask y'all to keep me in your prayers tonight. Even on good days I still need that support. The Lord answers prayer and from Him I get my strength.