In HIS image.

Ugly days, Fat days, Bad Hair Days... And the list goes on.

 Waking up in the morning getting ready for the day and not liking how something looks on me, how my hair turned out, what my make-up looks like. But you know what times ticking and I am already five minutes late. So I walk out and my day is based on how I look. As I am walking, there are things running through my head, "she looks so cute, that girl has pretty hair, her face is so flawless, she is so fit..." And all this comparing goes on and on. It makes me feel worse about myself and how I look that day. Since I already feel bad my day ends up being an "egh!" kind of day.

In all honesty we all have these days. A lot more than we should.
"You are altogether beautiful, my darling;
   there is no flaw in you." (Solomon 4:7)
Instead of getting consumed in the outer appearance we should be getting consumed in the word and learning about how Jesus views us. We were made in His image. He made everyone beautiful in their own way. I know that sounds so cliche but it is so true.

   In my case: 

   When I was in 7th grade I weighed about 135-140. I was fitting into my moms clothes. That is 22 years in age difference. And that is a lot of weight for a 4 foot & 11 inches 13 year old girl. Then I began to drop a lot of weight because I was so busy with sports by the beginning of my eighth grade year I was at 103. I was really skinny, everyone noticed, girls always told me, boys started liking me (I was always the good friend). I liked it, it felt good. When my freshmen year arrived I was not as involved in sports and could not find a way to keep my weight off. So I began to purge, I began to starve and work out a lot. This was consuming me. At school it was easy to keep up a front but at home I would let my guard down. I was always so cranky and mean with my family, always fighting with my mom. I was pushing my family away the farther they went the less they'd suspect of my eating disorder. Then I started getting into all sorts of trouble. Like boys, missing school, lying to my family, I was looking for a place where I belonged because home didn't feel like HOME anymore I didn't feel like a part of my family and I wanted out. My family was falling apart and it was all because I was separating them all. My mom trying to help me, my dad getting tired, my three sisters picking sides. My parents were planning on getting a divorce because my mom didn't want me anymore and wanted my dad to keep me. For him it was a sacrifice, that is the sad part. I felt like I was all alone. My 3.8 g.p.a went to straight D's. People say high school changes everyone and that turned out to be true in my case. I kept my habits going and I found myself so empty always, mad, sad, frustrated, bottled up with crazy emotions. I was looking for acceptance when that is not at all what I needed. Then towards the end of my sophomore year my family turned to Christ I was saved and that is when I began to realize the road I was going down was not the road i was intended for. 

NOW I can tell you that my family is the closest family I know, of course we fight sometimes but we're pretty tight knit. We are all saved, serving our Lord, living for Him. We were all transformed. We ALL believe that if I had not gone through this stage in my life who knows where we would all be at. So in a way my rebelliousness, my sickness, my stage was a way of bringing my family to Christ, to be who we are as a family today. A family with a purpose, we strive to be loving and to be as united as possible.

This is Kayla, Melissa, Kattie. My sisters:)

As for me: Yes, I still deal with self image issues. But tell me, what girl doesn't? And every time I start to feel low my Jesus reminds me that "I AM BEAUTIFUL!" He sees NO FLAWS. That was an awful season in my life but it brought out so much good. Every situation has a purpose. A lot of what went on in those two years shaped me in to who I am today.

& that would be Me:)

So you see we get all caught up in the newest trends, what our bodies should look like, what we should be eating, what we should be wearing. When the truth is we should be getting caught up in how He views us, we should be reflecting what He has taught us and continues to teach us. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1) We should all be perfecting our hearts because in the end that is whats going to reflect on the outside. Not all pretty faces, have pretty hearts. Do not let your adorning be external the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear. (1 Peter 3:3) Don't fall into that category. Our God wants us to be like him. A person with a loving, forgiving, honest, caring heart. Those are only some of the many qualities that He has. We should strive to have every single one He is. It is not always easy but it is achievable. He will not offer anything He knows we cannot do. We NEED to find joy in Him and not in people, nor places, or things. 

When YOU learn to reflect the image of God YOU will be able to see more and more that YOU are beautiful. YOU are made in His image. YOU were fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14) 

-xoxo Vanessa