I’m going to tell you right up front that this is a very long post. But I feel it is just too important to split it up. So grab a cup of tea or coffee, get in a comfy chair, and read some good news about how beautiful you are. I pray it will be valuable to you.

Beauty Is More Than Skin-Deep!

In the Disney classic Snow White, the Wicked Queen (whose name was Grimhilde, by the way) always looked into her magic mirror and asked, “Mirror, mirror on the wall…” I bet you can finish that for me, can’t you? Of course, “Who’s the fairest of them all?” For a long time that queen liked the mirror’s response. But one day that changed. That Wicked Queen wasn’t too happy to hear that Snow White was now more beautiful than she was. And, as we all know, she was willing to do anything to eliminate the competition.

But in our personal “fairy tale” if we ask our magic mirror the same question, the mirror replies, “Well, it’s not you, Chickie!” We don’t see ourselves as the beautiful heroine in a fairy tale or even in real life, do we?

Who Are You Listening To?

A few years ago, my 5-year-old granddaughter watched me as I washed my face and put on my makeup. She asked me why I did that. I said, well it makes me feel younger and prettier. Then I asked a dangerous question to never ask a five-year-old – I said, “Do you think I’m young or old?” She quickly and emphatically said, “Old!” I asked if it was because of my wrinkles. She said, “Oh yes! Your wrinkles on your face, on your hands and on your elbows!” Even my elbows? Wow! That was a blow to my self-confidence!

I wish you could have known my mother. She was an incredible Christian woman with the biggest heart of anyone I have ever met.  My mother was kind, caring and beautiful both inside and out. She had a gentle, sweet spirit and was loved by everyone. Seriously, everyone! But what might surprise you is that she never felt beautiful, valuable or important. You see, she had been terribly abused as she was growing up. The message she heard in her head was that she was not valuable and not important. Sadly, those negative messages even affected her life as an adult. She had let circumstances determine her worth. Just as I let a five-year-old’s assessment affect me.

In the movie, “The Help,” maid Aibileen tells that sweet little girl in her care, “You is smart, you is kind, you is important.” She had her repeat those words over and over until she believed them. That little darlin’ wasn’t getting those positive messages from her family. She didn’t meet their expectations of a “perfect” child. Sound familiar? Maybe we need to repeat those words to ourselves! Do you feel a far cry from beautiful? Or smart? Or important? It seems the messages we tell ourselves are based on the world’s standards.  Even worse, you may have been fed those negative words from your own family. Those are even harder to forget, aren’t they?

What Does The Price Tag Say?

If you ever visit Paris, make a stop at the Louvre, probably the most famous art museum in the world. When you walk through the rooms, you will see famous works of art painted by the masters of all time, such as Rembrandt, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Monet and van Gogh. When you look at all these beautiful masterpieces, you stare quietly in awe of their beauty and details. Can you imagine the artist as he planned and made each stroke of his brush? I am an artist, too, and sometimes putting that first stroke on the canvas is the hardest of all! I can tell you that I have to put a lot of thought and do a lot of sketching before my first dip into the paint. It was probably the same for those master artists.

What if their paintings went on sale at an auction? Why the price tags would be astronomical! You see the price of the painting tells you how valuable it is. Masterpieces go for the highest prices, don’t they? But it is the same with us, my dear child! You were created by the Master’s hand, every part of you carefully planned and created. And think about the price he paid for you! Far, far more than the most expensive painting in the world – he paid for you with his life!

Just A Dusty Old Violin?

One of my favorite poems was one that my mother used to share with me. She had memorized it, and I always loved hearing her expression as she recited it. Maybe it was important to her because of the poem’s meaning and how unloved she had felt all her life.  I don’t really know. The poem, written in 1921, is called “The Old Violin.”

‘Twas battered and scarred,
And the auctioneer thought it
hardly worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin,
but he held it up with a smile.

“What am I bid, good people”, he cried,
“Who starts the bidding for me?”
“One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?”
“Two dollars, who makes it three?”
“Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,”

But, No,
From the room far back a gray bearded man
Came forward and picked up the bow,
Then wiping the dust from the old violin
And tightening up the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet
As sweet as the angel sings.

The music ceased and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said “What now am I bid for this old violin?”
As he held it aloft with its bow.

“One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?”
“Two thousand. Who makes it three?”
“Three thousand once, three thousand twice,
Going and gone,” said he.

The audience cheered,
But some of them cried,
“We just don’t understand.”
“What changed its worth?”
Swift came the reply.
“The Touch of the Master’s Hand.”

“And many a man with life out of tune
All battered and bruised with hardship
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin.

A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on.
He is going once, he is going twice,
He is going and almost gone.

But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the Touch of the Masters’ Hand.

Just a Touch!

The author of this poem was Myra Brooks Welch who, like that old violin, was “battered and scarred” from the debilitating effects of arthritis. She had dearly loved to play the organ, but her crippling disease robbed her of her ability to do so. Instead, she chose poetry as her way to speak through the music of words. Confined to a wheelchair, Myra could have felt pity and defeat but instead her beautiful spirit could not be contained. She managed to compose her words by using the eraser of a pencil to type her words with her badly crooked hands. The words came slowly, but the joy she expressed far outweighed the pain she endured. You see, this woman knew the joy and true beauty of a life that had been touched by the Master’s Hand!

But we still struggle with that, don’t we? We feel like a dusty, out-of-tune violin that is worthless to the crowd. But our Master knows our true worth. Let’s look at some good news from God’s word that might be just what we need to change our view of ourselves. So don’t take my word for it. Listen to what God thinks about you!

What Does Our Father Think?

First, the Lord takes pleasure in you! He doesn’t just tolerate you. When you talk to Him in prayer, He gives you His undivided attention! With all the noise and chaos all around he focuses on what you have to say! And, according to Psalm 116:2, he even “leans his ear to hear you.” That is pretty amazing to know that he is eager to hear what you have to say.

He celebrates your place in His kingdom! The second part of Isaiah 62:5 says, “As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you!” Zephaniah 3:17 says that He will “quiet you with His love and rejoice over you with singing!” Can you imagine the song of joy He would be singing over you?

What about your family, your history, your personality, your looks? Other people may worry about those things, but God doesn’t. Your bank account, your education, your resume, none that affects how God values you! Even your behavior doesn’t alter His love for you. It is unconditional and irrevocable. God doesn’t love you because you’re wealthy or smart or good. He doesn’t love you for what you can do for Him. He loves you because you are His!  In 1 John 3:1, it says, “See what great love the Father as lavished on us that we should be called the children of God.”

What? Even More Good News?

Want some more good news? The Lord says you are beautiful! Not just slightly attractive or a little bit appealing. Beautiful! You are lovely to look at because God created us in His image. That means you! Psalm 149:4 says, “He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.” You are beautiful beyond description because you are covered with His grace.

We are often obsessed with our earthly appearance, doing everything we can to measure up and to please others. But when we look in the mirror, sadly our eyes go straight to those features we feel are inferior. But not God. He knew exactly what He was doing the day he knit you together in your mother’s womb.

Nothing Surprises Our Father!

Now you may be thinking, “Maybe God was pleased when He made me, but I’m not sure He’s happy with how I turned out. Listen, dear one, God knew your first breath and He knows when you will take your last one. And He knows every one of your breaths in between!

Did you know that He counts every hair on your head (and for me, even the ones left in my hairbrush!)? He feels your pain every time you cry. In Psalm 56:8 it says, “He stores all your tears in a bottle.” Our God is not surprised or disappointed with how you turned out. He loved you then. He loves you still. And He will love you forever. Don’t think for a moment that He did not know long before you were born exactly what you would be like today – even down to the smallest detail or your life, your thoughts, and your actions. And He loves the person that is you today! Let me say that again – He loves you just the way you are right this minute!

He Makes NO Mistakes!

We get in trouble when we compare ourselves to others. That’s what the world sure tries to convince us. We need that new makeup, perfume, hairstyle, outfit, or whatever it might be, to be happy. We always find someone who is younger, taller, thinner, more graceful…the list goes on. But God does not compare. Each of us is a unique work of His creation. You are God’s definition of beautiful for you, perfectly loved and adored.

When we critique our looks, it’s as if we are saying to God, “You could have done better.” He created each of us as beautiful just the perfect way He planned. Would I tell Him, “You really need to put a bit more orange in that sunset” or “That rose needs a few more petals”?  He knew what He was doing when He made you! I love Psalm 139 (it’s my favorite chapter in the Bible Read it! https://www.esv.org/Psalm+139/). In verse 14 it says, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” We all know that part, but the rest of that verse says, “Marvelous are Your works.” That’s me! That’s you! We are the marvelous works! Wow!

Made In His Image

I love words like marvelous and fabulous and terrific. Splendid. Glorious. Radiant. Awesome. These words describe God, don’t they? But they also describe us! We are made in His image, after all. We were created by Him. He spoke the world and creation into being, but He handcrafted us! And when He was done, He didn’t go back and try again to make us better. Nope. When He was done, He stopped. He smiled. And He said, it was “very good.” In Romans 9:20-21, Paul says, “My friend, I ask, ‘Who are you to think you can question God? Does the clay have the right to ask the potter why he shaped it the way He did? Does not the Potter have power over the clay?’” Don’t question His plan for making you as a stunning object of His creation. He really knew what He was doing!

Ta-da!!

I have a little exercise for you to do. Every morning, stand in front of your mirror (fully dressed, of course), stretch out your arms with joy, and say like you mean it – “Ta da!” It may feel funny at first. But it should feel good. And look good, too. You can’t say it without smiling, and a smile always improves things! You see, “Ta-da” is the GDRV (Grandma D Revised Version) of Psalm 139 – “I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works.” Ta-da!

By the way, this is not being prideful, but just recognizing where your unique beauty comes from. My friend, Brandon Edwards, who to me is a modern-day philosopher, said something about this. He said, “Humility is not denying the gifts that God has given you. It is constantly acknowledging that they come from God.” He also said, “Your gifts and talents are different than everyone else’s. God made you, and He knows you. Be you, and you will become more like Him.”

I know all of us have seen women who are physically gorgeous, but when they opened their mouths, they were shallow and not very lovely at all. But then we have met women who, by the world’s standards, are not gorgeous, but they have a glowing spirit that made you stop. You see, when the light of Christ shines through us, we are utterly transformed. When the love of the Lord is in our hearts, it shows on our radiant faces. And we are gorgeous! And that’s the real story, the hope of glory, our ultimate “Ta-da.”

My Prayer:

Father, my sweet friend and I have struggled with our appearance and our sense of worth in our lives. Let this be the day we turn away from the world’s lies. Help us to embrace the truth of your Word and the beauty you have created each of us to be, beauty that is only found in your Son, our Savior.  In his perfect name we pray, Amen.

PS. I have one more thing I need to say: If you are a mom, please teach your daughter her “Ta-da.” Let her know how perfect and beautiful she is right now. The world won’t tell her, so please do! She needs to know that more than you can imagine. She needs to feel unconditional love and acceptance. This world is tough and, sadly, school is even tougher!

I hope you will drop me a line. Let me know if this has helped you. Maybe you have some insights to help others see their value and beauty.

Blessings and hugs to you, Grandma D