Upheld In Your Own Kind of Beautiful

Worship Youth and Beauty

When do we ever get comfortable with ourselves? I recently found a clothing tag that encouraged, BE YOUR OWN KIND OF BEAUTIFUL!

That takes some contemplation in this culture, especially with our fixation on youth. When is it ok to be as old as you are?

Then I read the inside of a candy wrapper. This one said, BE PROUD OF YOUR AGE.  What??? Haven’t I already mentioned that we, as a people, worship youth as beauty and then age as…well…age. You know, wrinkles, brown spots, a tub around the middle, silver streaks down the middle of your hair when you need a color (piebald beards if you are a guy), you know…AGE!

WING IT. Well, maybe this candy wrapper makes more sense. While we want wisdom, we don’t want the age that comes with it. So—we wing it. You know, PRETEND!

Oh, did I mention that I am facing another birthday soon? This is the era of birthdays when we DON’T want a birthday cake and candles denoting how many years (now, I did NOT say no cake!). Besides the burn-your-house-down possibility, I certainly don’t want to be reminded of AGE!

Yet—be your own kind of beautiful. Isn’t there something in there that is freeing? No matter how old we are, beauty still shines outward when it’s in our hearts. I’m holding to that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Real Message

While Ecclesiastes in Scripture reminds us to remember our Creator before our bodies break down, die and return to dust—the REAL message is to “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”

And after Jesus died for us, and rose again to give us every opportunity to follow Him to heaven, I think fearing God and keeping His commandments is the only way to go!