Beauty Within

To say these last two weeks have been difficult is an understatement. I have been battling illness for two weeks and I pray I am on the other side. I finally took a trek out to the gym and took some time for "me". It was wonderful.
Being laid out on the couch has given me some time to ponder life and my existence. these are good things to reflect on and I wanted to share a few points with you.
I am learning more clearly over the last few months that the purpose of my life and every woman's life is to bring life and beauty to the world. Every talent, every gift, every personality trait that a woman has is a gift from God and is meant to bring joy, beauty and life. Those who bear children have brought the gift of life to the world in a tangible way, but essentially, we as women are all life givers. We are all beautiful. We have believed a lie that there is a standard of beauty that must be measured and that can never be attained. We believe the lies that in order to be beautiful to the opposite sex that we must reveal everything and trade our bodies for love, and lose our soul in the process. When we believe these lies, we become desperate and needy, and we lose the strength and beauty that has bestowed on us by our Creator, and our life giving spirit is vanquished. I see so many women who live life as an empty shell, believing they have nothing to offer, and the cares of this world have weighed so heavily on them that they have lost who they are. I am like that more often than I care to admit. When I believe I am nothing, my strength as a woman is gone.
But there is hope. We were not left here without a redeemer, without a rescuer, without our hero. Jesus Christ, the mighty warrior, the lover of our souls has come to rescue us in our broken state and return us to our position as warrior princesses. He fills us and makes us beautiful and captivating once more. He uncovers the lies that we are unworthy and he reveals our true life within. From this well of life comes our strength and true beauty as women. When we are found in this beautiful One, Jesus Christ, we overflow with grace and purity and captivating beauty. We realize that our role in this world is to recapture what was given to us as daughters of Eve, and we have everything we need in Christ to bring truth and hope to this world. The world is starving for this truth and this hope. While we cannot fix everyone's problems and get covered in the weight of despair, we can stand boldly as a beautiful light and radiate hope. There are few, even in Christ following women who truly believe the value of who they are. If we believed it and lived it every day, nothing would be the same.