Crown of Beauty Magazine The Beauty Issue | Page 7

what is true beauty?

by sarah ross.

"I used to stand in front of a mirror and make myself say ‘Sarah, you are beautiful.’ It was quite possibly the most awkward thing I had ever done, because I didn’t believe it at all. I could hardly look myself in the eye, let alone speak those words out loud to myself."

“You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.” Song of Solomon 4:7

Our world today is filled with messages that seemingly portray beauty. We are bombarded every day with advertising of new products that promise to make us look or feel more beautiful. Whether it’s clothes, makeup, hair products, weight loss programs/pills, we are advised to believe that all of these things are what define how beautiful we are or aren’t. The world around us couldn’t be more wrong.

I must admit that I, myself, have fallen for these lies and got caught up in the obsession of what I saw in the mirror. For most of my teenage years I struggled with an eating disorder. I used food as an escape from things I didn’t want to deal with. Instead of dealing with those underlying issues, I decided to control what I ate or didn’t eat. Before I knew it, the tables were turned and it began to control me. After finally admitting I needed help, I lived at a treatment center for 2 months, where I learned some Biblical truths about beauty and how God sees us. I had reached the end of the lies and the beginning of real truth. It was, though, just the beginning. After returning from treatment I still struggled for a few more years, until I finally realized that I wasn’t able to handle it all on my own and had to give it over to God, believing that I was a broken human who needed His love, forgiveness and new mercies every day.

Since that moment I’ve been on a journey of understanding what He says about true beauty, and how that differs from what the world says. I am now a personal trainer/nutrition coach in Nashville, TN and have learned through my own experiences that you

aren’t able to help anyone until you first help yourself. When we constantly compare ourselves to the world’s description of beauty we will always feel like we are falling short. I’ve learned firsthand that it’s not just necessary, but vital, to have an overall balance of internal, external, mental and spiritual health.

Before we are able to answer this question of true beauty, we need to look at the definition of beauty. Beauty is – the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestation (shape, color, sound), a meaningful design or some natural or artificial environment. Something excellent of its kind. I love that last part, ‘something excellent of its kind.’ When’s the last time you felt like you were beautiful and something excellent of your kind?

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