I see signs of aging as I look in the mirror, and I am forced to come to terms with the fact that I don’t look the same as I did when I was 18. I wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self to appreciate what I had, but, unfortunately, I don’t know if I was ever truly happy with how I looked in the moment. That dissatisfaction seems so silly to me now, I straightened my curly hair and my friends with straight hair curled theirs! I dieted and worked out and worried about my lithe body that was healthy and worked great and fit into jeans that looked good, and now I just want my knees not to crack so loud when I stand up!

Isn’t that just the way? We all seem to think we are too tall, or too short, or too thin, or too heavy, or nose too big, eyes too small, a little lip plumper might help, and I wish I had freckles or I could get rid of my freckles. 

Here’s the thing, though. God made each of us, unique but in His image. There are so many verses in the Bible that remind us that He has made everything, including us, beautiful. In fact, with the eternity He has set in our hearts and the endless love He has for us, we are always going to be beautiful!

Here are a few verses I need to post on my mirror to remind me:

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV) “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV) “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’”

Psalm 139:14 (NIV) “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”