The Key to Loving Yourself the Way You Are!

There are no limits to the human obsession with appearance.

Be it Eve and the forbidden fruit or models posing on fashion mags, looks are saleable, filters indispensable, impressions matter more than what lurks beneath the countless layers of colors and filters.

What started as a need (to give color and dimension to black and white photographs) has become a lifestyle.

Almost none of us can imagine posting a pic without adding filters- so much so that social media platforms have in-built features to tweak our reality till it is “picture perfect.”

Flaws and Blemishes, Everywhere!

Spotless, ageless, creaseless- our cosmetic industry has a lot to offer.

Quick fixes with lasting results, billions are spent¹ each year on fixing what was never bad, to begin with.

I often look at my pugs and wonder how they would feel about getting a longer nose, considering their almost not-there ones. Perhaps the ants could do with a barrow on their backs or the butterflies with stronger wings. There is so much that God could have made the ‘right way,’ but yet He missed it.

Strange, isn’t it?

What more, despite all our shortcomings, He expects us to believe that we are His masterpiece? Is He kidding?!

Can’t we see how we actually look? Can’t we see all that’s just not that good? Can’t we see???

Yes, we can see, and that’s the problem.

For We Walk by Faith, Not by Sight…

25^th November 2018, the day I was born again- Sis Tyngshae from Shillong told me I had bold eyes.

Sis Tyng is pretty in all the sense of the term. Fair, doe-eyed, dimpled cheeks, beautiful smile, everything about her is just beautiful.

That was the last day of the Minister’s Conference (SOFI, Nagaland) and Ps. John Roughton was giving the altar call for those willing to accept Jesus into their lives and to be baptized by the Holy Spirit.

After some hesitation, I remember walking down the aisle, standing there among all those mighty men and women of God.

Ps. John constantly told us to believe and receive -eyes closed, hands held high in worship, I prayed with him. And then something happened.

“Sany, who makes you bold?”

I could hear that voice right by my ears, unlike any others I had ever heard.

He repeated, “Sany, who makes you bold?”

I (my inner voice) replied, “The Holy Spirit makes me bold.”

And there and then, I could sense a tangible deposit in my heart, as if something had been placed there, and I started praying in tongues.

Life has never been the same since then.

Overcoming Years of Melanin Complex

As one of the relatively darker ones in my entire household, I grew up with many insecurities, especially those regarding my color.

There were nights I would cry myself to sleep, wishing I would look like a certain someone and was envious of my own mother.

Oh, the torment is indescribable, and yet I saw no escape until I found Jesus, or rather He found me, whichever way that works. 😊

God blessed me with some really beautiful and generous friends who encouraged me, always bringing out the best in me.

Two of them- Jayatri and Flora had to put with a lot of my nonsensical issues, but I am truly grateful that God sent them in at the right time.

These women had their eyes on Jesus long before I even started my faith journey. Their godly wisdom steered me past the lies of the enemy to see myself the way Jesus did, and that was all that mattered.

How You Can Celebrate the Way You Are!

There is this song by Bruno Mars wherein he sings, “Girl, you are amazing, just the way you are!”

The message is simple and universally applicable- You are amazing the way you are!

No liposuction, augmentation- increase or decrease is required for you to be loved by others. Mind you, I am not advocating living a negligent life- God has blessed us with long life and health, but we need to be wise and make healthy lifestyle choices.

However, two things will determine how you see yourself in a filtered, colored, edited world and empower you to celebrate the way you are:

Godly eyes

You can’t see the beauty of the creation unless you see it through the eyes of the Creator.

It’s only when the Holy Spirit enlightens our minds and reveals His richness that we have in Jesus Christ that we can truly appreciate all that has been so generously imparted to us.

All His beauty, all His love, all that is His has been made ours in His beloved son, Jesus.

But to see that, we need His eyes, which is why we need to seek Him above all.

Godly friends

Whom you hang out with matters A LOT!

You can’t be in a fish market and not smell like fish, nor can you be in a garden and not carry that scent. Bad company will rub you the wrong way, while godly ones will lift you up. There is a difference between “good” friends and “godly” friends.

King Jehoshaphat had good friends while Daniel had godly friends and the way their life unfolds speaks volumes about the influence their friends had on them.

So, hold your heads high, children of God!

For though you are a work in progress, yet you are His masterpiece, as each day we rise from strength to strength and from glory to glory.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen!

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1. Cosmetics industry – statistics & facts | Statista ↩︎