from boys. In fact, you don’t have many guy friends – only the ones you’ve known since grade school who are totally NOT cool. They play computer games and dress dorky, and you don’t have anything in common with them anymore.
Arriving at school, you scan the hall for your friends, eager not to be alone. Your friends are running late today. No big deal. You go to your locker, manage your books and notebooks for awhile, listening to the conversations around you. SHE did WHAT with him? Who’s having a party this weekend? Will you be invited? What would you wear if you were?
When your friends do not arrive, you get fidgety. You take out your iPhone and play on it, checking Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, hoping no one notices that you really just don’t have anyone to talk to. That you are lonely and in need of a hug.
Your friends don’t show up before the bell, so you walk to class alone. A text reveals that all of them are sick with one thing or another and won’t be at school for the day. Your heart falls. Classes aren’t so bad, but when lunch hits, you feel lost. Who to sit with? You wish you could sit with the guys – the athletic, attractive boys you admire from a distance. You could sit with the dorky grade-school friends, but they would know it was fake.
That’s just it, isn’t it? Fake. The word pulses through your mind and you try to ignore it. "This isn’t who I am," something inside you says. "I don’t like to wear flannel. Coffee is gross. No one thinks I am special no matter what I’m wearing. I don’t even know who I am anymore."
You think of a message your youth pastor preached recently about having authentic faith. If you’re telling yourself the truth, nothing about you is authentic. You don’t like the vintage style – you’d rather wear a dress than to grunge up in big sweaters and boots. You realize you’re only thinking, dressing, and behaving the way you do because of what you perceive everyone thinks. You don’t think, dress, or act based on what you know Jesus thinks about you. You’ve actually done a good job of forgetting Him in this whole process. What would Jesus say?
“What do you say?” you whisper aloud. You remember verses you’d read in Ecclesiastes about vanity, about striving after the wind. Trying to please those girls and impress those boys? It’s all striving after wind, you conclude.
are altogether beautiful, my darling. There is no blemish in you.” (4:7) Beautiful? That's a word that describes royalty in your mind. Elegant gowns, sparkling lights, graceful dances, and princesses being rescued by strong warriors. All of it evokes a sense of awe and wonder.
Another verse comes to mind, something you heard in church not long ago. Zephaniah 3:17. “The LORD your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will quiet you with His love, and He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”
Jesus, you ARE my warrior, you pray. You saved me, and you shout victory over me! You’re my prince. You, God of the universe, think I am beautiful. You said your creation was good, that you made even ME in your image. You think I’m beautiful.
When you get home that day, you grab your Bible off of your nightstand. It falls open to Song of Solomon, to a verse that says, “You are altogether beautiful, my darling. There is no blemish in you.” (4:7) Beautiful? That's a word that describes royalty in your mind. Elegant gowns, sparkling lights, graceful dances, and princesses being rescued by strong warriors. All of it evokes a sense of awe and wonder.
Another verse comes to mind, something you heard in church not long ago. Zephaniah 3:17. “The LORD your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will quiet you with His love, and He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”
"Jesus, you ARE my warrior," you pray. "You saved me, and you shout victory over me! You’re my Prince. You, God of the Universe, think I am beautiful. You said your creation was good, that you made even ME in your image. You think I’m beautiful."
The next day, you spend less time worrying over your hair, your makeup, and your clothes. You find that flowery dress you love most, and let your hair do what it wants. You look in the mirror, heart warm with Christ’s presence, and you smile. And for the first time – you see beauty.
53
"My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You are fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon