You In The Mirror

This one is for the girls. (Men feel welcome to read and encourage the girls in your life). Confidence, self image, perfection… these are words that have invaded my mind for many years but have mainly been accompanied with negative thoughts. Can you relate? I’m writing this because I’m betting that you answered yes to that question. There are many things that teach us how to interpret what we see and how it makes us feel. Sometimes it’s the way others describe us specifically or if they are just referring to a topic that we relate to. For me, acne has been a sore topic for at least a decade. There were years where I had very little breakouts but I still flipped out over a blemish and other years where I experienced horrible cystic acne that seemed to have taken over my face. Anytime someone would talk about others who had acne or just complaining about the one blemish on their face, it always seemed to affect me. I started to hold onto all of these opinions and negative thoughts about acne and those who suffered with acne. Like most girls who experience acne, I ran to cosmetics and really relied on them to make me feel better about myself. But more than that, wearing makeup became apart of who I was.

Now you may think that this is just a girly post but this is a serious identity issue that I have recently been overcoming. Identity issues are something that everyone faces at some point in their life and I desire that through sharing my experience that you too will find the real truth about your identity.

So basically I believed that I couldn’t be taken seriously or even loved (to a degree), without makeup. Why? Well because the one thing people look at most when they talk to you is your face. I thought that people would think my face was unattractive or unappealing and therefore cause them not to look at me or engage in conversation with me. This fear caused me to stay home many nights because I was ashamed and/or embarrassed to be seen. Now writing this all out it sounds somewhat silly but when I identified myself as someone that others didn’t want to engage with or be around then of course I found myself alone and sad.

Time for happy thoughts!! Right now I am still seeking dermatology help and being more careful about what triggers my acne but through this I have experienced a lot of personal growth. One of the biggest leaps of faith I have taken to help my skin has resulted in me not using makeup on my face for the last two weeks. Specifically anything for my skin like: foundation, concealer, and powder. Now for most girls who use makeup daily you will know how weird, awkward, and uncomfortable it is to look at the mirror and see all the imperfections that you think need to be covered up. It has been years, and I mean years since I have gone out into public without some sort of foundation or powder. I can honestly say that not using those cosmetics for two weeks was not easy at first. However, after a few days my complexion actually started to even out and I became more familiar with the new girl looking back at me in the mirror. This leads me to say that what we focus on will organize how we think about everything else. So when I began to focus on the fact that going without makeup would be beneficial for the healing process of my skin, I actually gained a new found confidence. I don’t feel like I am walking around with a mask on and wondering if people would still love and accept me if I didn’t put the mask on. If anything the people who see me on a daily basis have commented that my skin looks good and that they couldn’t tell that I wasn’t wearing makeup. This leads me to believe that the cosmetics may not have even been covering/hiding what I didn’t want people to see. (This is not a post against cosmetics but rather pinpointing my reliance on them to identify myself)

So my question to you is: What Is Your Mask or What Are You Trying To Camouflage? Maybe you don’t struggle with acne but there is something about yourself that you are afraid to let other people see or know about. Do you have a scar, a lisp, an illness, or even being overly conscious of your body weight? Whatever it is I would encourage you to see if it is affecting the way you see yourself and they way you try to portray yourself to others. You will be really surprised when you stop hiding whatever it is and see how much confidence you can find and how many people will still love and accept you as you are.

 

God didn’t make any mistakes and He especially didn’t make a mistake when He created you. Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which He prepared in advance for us.” A masterpiece is often referred to as an artist’s best piece of work. So I would encourage you to believe that about yourself, that you are God’s masterpiece. Make up or no make up, muscles or no muscles, perfect speech or slurred speech. YOU ARE FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE!

 

Challenge for the ladies: Try to not rely on makeup so much but rather show your natural beauty. If you accept the challenge or have experienced not relying on makeup please share your story in a comment.