Uniquely, Beautifully, YOU

My friend Christina Barnes of Missionary Yogi, on the shore in Costa Rica!

I used to chase beauty as though it was a prize to be won as I drowned in the sea of comparison. I would measure myself against the pretty, the skinny, the talented, the popular, and the funny. The waves of comparison seemed to hit one after the other, not quite letting me catch my footing as I tumbled out at sea. Sand and saltwater filling my battle wounds.

I wonder if you’ve ever felt the same way? Caught in the crashing waves of comparison, wishing you could somehow look more like someone else. Your confidence slowly ebbing away as you scroll through your social media and feel as though you don’t measure up.

But what if I told you, you do? You not only measure up, you are a delight in the Lord’s eye. Not the version of yourself you wish you were but who you actually are today. God created you to be uniquely you – not a replica of someone else.

The Lord says that beauty can be fleeting. Even if you somehow achieve the world’s standard of beauty, it won’t last. It will be temporary. It will fade away.

But the Lord lets us in on a little secret. He asks us to come in close as he gently whispers in our ear. There is another way of living. A way that lasts.

Walk in the knowledge of who God created you to be, with reverence and admiration for who God is. Exhale; you’re off the hook. You don’t have to create your identity – that was God’s job. You get to discover who He created you to be, as you draw close to him.

Beyond the waves of comparison, you’ll find a unique and beautiful you.

​Perhaps it is time we come in from the water and enjoy the view from the shore.

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Proverbs 31:30 (NIV)

Consider the Hasidic tale of the Rabbi Zusya. When he was an old man, Zusya said, ‘In the coming world, they will not ask me: “Why were you not Moses?” They will ask me: “Why were you not Zusya?”’ That is God’s question to each of us as well. We are not expected to be who we are not. We are expected to be who we are.

Living Your Strengths, by Albert L. Winseman, Donald O. Clifton, and Curt Lievseld

**This devotional was originally authored for a collaborative project and published in a Loving your Mirror Image journal (an 8-session class designed for teens), and more recently in the October Missionary Yogi newsletter.