A Rare Beauty

posted by Erin Davis on 08/11/11 | Twitter: @ErinGraffiti
Category: Myself; ; 24 comments

Our readers love to talk about God's truth. Several months ago, we offered the chance for LYWB.com readers to submit posts for our blog. The response was overwhelming. You'll be able to catch the writing of these one-time guest bloggers in the coming months. These are readers just like you who are striving to live out God's truth. Since these are guest bloggers, their style or approach may be a little different than you're used to, but we've read every word and we think they've got something important to say. In fact, check this great post by Brittany Ketter.

Today is one of those rare days where I did everything right. woman in front of mirror

My hair went the way I wanted it to go.
My makeup went on nicely in a fun way I decided to wear it today. (Bonus points as it covered up my blemishes and spots on my face.)
I wore the right outfit that is both modest and compliments my looks and personality.

This is a rare day where everything I wanted to go right with my appearance did. But when it came down to it, I remembered my verse I sign next to my name:

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight (1 Pet. 3:3–4).

I am quite happy with my appearance today, but at the end of the day when I'm sitting in my big comfy chair in my sweats and an over-sized T-shirt with my hair in a messy ponytail on top of my head and my makeup washed off, I want to be beautiful. I'm not talking about the outer beauty that is here today, gone tomorrow, and ever-changing by the world's standards. I am talking about the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit—a young woman who is humble, loving, and compassionate to others. And whose outer character is a reflection of her inner character. I want my beauty to be genuine and a reflection of who I really am.

In our world, people are constantly saying how you have to look and dress and act. They are constantly pressuring us to conform to what they say is beautiful. Tell me, who are they to say what is beautiful? Who are they to say what is worth more? God's creation is beautiful, and He doesn't make mistakes. When you start thinking along the lines of what the world says about beauty and putting your appearance down, you are saying that God did a bad job. That is a lie. God knit you together in your mother's womb ever so perfectly. From your eye color to your hair color to your personality to your genes, God purposely created you this way, and you know what? He is enthralled by your beauty. (Ps. 45:11, emphasis mine).

Do not believe the lie that your worth is based on your looks. But know the truth—that when you realize just how beautiful you are and see who you are in Christ, that is true beauty.

What is the kind of beauty you want to exhibit in your life?

About the Author: Brittany Ketter is a college freshman with a Bible/Theology major. Her goals for the future include publishing her book for teen girls and working with women and teens. Aside from writing, her interests include worship dance, music, drama, horses, summer, and spending time with her family and friends.

Comments

HEY, GIRLS! We love hearing from you, but feel limited in the ways we can help. For one thing, we’re not trained counselors. If you’re seeking counsel, we encourage you to talk to your pastor or a godly woman in your life as they’ll know more details and can provide you with ongoing accountability and help. Also, the following comments do not necessarily reflect the views of Revive Our Hearts. We reserve the right to remove comments which might be unhelpful, unsuitable, or inappropriate.

Krlosier

Re:
on Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 1:43 am

Brittany--I've read this post before, but this is really awesome! :D good job! I aspire to write like you :D I'm happy because when you are famous I get to tell everyone that I know you!!
Hahaha well, amazing post! :) U always encourage me in so many diff ways!

Marie

I so agree :)
on Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 2:27 am

When I read this post, I was so thankful for many things:
1. This post will eventually reach many girls/women like me.
2. I feel I was meant to read this since its my spiritual birthday today.. (the day I accepted Christ as my savior, August 11)
3. I was reminded that looking good may be appealing and okay but it can't compare with the importance of inner beauty.

I grew up like any typical girl: having friends, having schools, etc etc.. But unlike some girls, I never had a boyfriend. My friends were having their "love lives" and I somehow felt I was being left out. I always thought it was something about the way I look or dress, and I did everything I could. Until now, I'm 17, no one had courted me or anything like that. However, as time went by, I became more and more grateful to the Lord, because I really feel He's preparing the right guy for me, the one who will never break my heart. :)

I mean come on, if a guy likes us just for our appearance, it would be just wrong. Time fades beauty but inner beauty is something more special :)

God bless sisters :*

Rachel

Re:
on Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 11:51 am

Thanks for this great post! My friend lately has been trying to get me to look great, and i appreciate her efforts, but I also have told her I just want to be me. Thank you1

Julie Waldvogel

:)
on Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 12:05 pm

I agree Marie, with the last paragraph especially. I'm 18 and I've watched most of my non-christian friends go through tons of bf's every year. I am very thankful that my heart is set-apart for God, till he shows me my prince.
Great Post!

Elaina Orwoll

Thanks!
on Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 12:12 pm

Thanks Brittany, this has been an area of struggle for me!

Sarah

Re:
on Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 12:55 pm

thxx so much for this post!
As girls most of the time we care more about the looks and the appearance more than what we should, its not that we're going to dress in rags but we should care more about the inner beauty :)
May God help us today and 4ever to live for his glory!
Blessings

Aubry

Re:
on Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 1:06 pm

This post makes me think of Esther! Eshter is my favorite book of the Bible and consequently my favorite Bible character because of this: Though she was outwardly beautiful (she could have let that just be all there was to her and found her worth solely in that), she strived to be inwardly beautiful as well! Since so much worth is placed on outward beauty in our culture, we usually focus on that rather than the more long-lasting and more important inward beauty (afterall, that's what's going to last for all of eternity! Outward beauty will only last us a few decades.) Thanks so much for this post!

susie

Marie
on Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 2:29 pm

Happy Spiritual Birthday!!! =)

puddinggirl98

Agree
on Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 3:06 pm

Wow you are so right !! i always feel so pressured to look the right way when i the way i should look is like the girl made me to be !! :) and i don't always focus on God

God Bless

The Arteest

Re:
on Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 8:54 pm

What should I do when it seems like other girls can look so pretty with their hair all messed up and I barely look attractive with a lot of effort put into my appearance? I try not to be jealous but it frustrates the fire out of me! Sometimes when I'm alone and looking at the reflection in the mirror I think I look nice. But then when I get around other girls I feel so unatracctive. I try not to be all concerned about what other people (especially guys) think about me, but it is a horrible feeling. Like no guy could ever think I'm pretty. So what do I do then?

Heidi

Re:
on Friday, August 12, 2011 at 10:29 am

Thanks so much Brittany. I am learning to realize this.

Alex

Ummm
on Friday, August 12, 2011 at 9:01 pm

I would love to write some thing but every time I do its gone

Carrie, with the LYWB team

The Arteest
on Friday, August 12, 2011 at 11:51 pm

As women, we are all tempted at times to travel down the slippery slope of “comparison”. Comparison is deadly… and begins, as you’ve stated so well, in our minds!

Erin’s written two great posts on this topic that I know will be an encouragement to you. Stay engaged in the battle against this deadly enemy, dear friend!
But Why Can't I Look Like Her? A Look at Our Need to Compare (http://www.liesyoungwomenbelieve.com/index.php?id=75) and My thoughts on your beauty (http://www.liesyoungwomenbelieve.com/index.php?id=118)

Grace and peace,
Carrie

Lydia

Thumbs up!
on Monday, August 15, 2011 at 1:02 am

Love it :) I LOVE Ps 45:11. My friend and I discovered it on a mission trip together, and it's been a neat thing to come back to and to remind each other with. Thanks for sharing! <3

Marie

susie and :)
on Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 2:00 pm

thanks susie for greeting me! :)) heehee. never expected someone will greet me through here :)

now, i'd like to share something. recently i had a crush on one of my classmates and since that moment, i noticed i really made extra efforts to fix myself. i want to look presentable in a way he will "notice" me. in the end, i ended up laughing at myself, realizing how silly i was. if he won't accept or like me for me, where's happiness in that? *sigh. but i still do have a crush on him X))

Personally, i know that the kind of guy God is preparing for me is someone who will say I'm the most beautiful girl in the world (even i look like i just woke up, or lacking sleep, or you know those days :P)

Nellie

Re.
on Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 3:21 pm

Hello everyone I am new to this site and am loving the discussions that are being posted.I just wanted to say that I have and still am struggling with the way I look.All of my cousins and two sisters are skinnier and shorter than I am.I feel like a fat giant ogre amongest beautiful fairies.They are all really into fashion but I don't really care about my clothes.I like being able to go outside dressed comfortably instead of looking like I am about to walk the runway.But I am ashamed that I feel that way because I do want to look pretty.And it does not help that society deems that being pretty is wearing the latest fashion and looking as thin as a toothpick.But after reading this post I am having a change of heart.There is no use in trying to look good when your insides are all jacked up.God looks at your inner instead of outter apperance, and I needed to be reminded of that fact.God does not make mistakes and he molded me to look the way that I do.I AM BEAUTIFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE.

Sarah

a rare beauty
on Sunday, September 4, 2011 at 9:04 pm

hello im new to the site i just discoved your book . i love it. im glad to know that im a rare beauty. I feel exactly like nellie. I can get so self concious about my arm hair.Only after I read the post I began to see that Im a beautifull daughter to my Savior. thank you so much!!!!

Chloe

Inside Beauty
on Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 4:11 pm

Thank you for posting this, it was a great reminder that instead of doing just an outside beauty check, we should also do an inside beauty one. One of the things that I have been struggling with lately is forgiveness. I don't have a problem forgiving someone for a little mistake, or if they make a big mistake and it's there first one. But after the third or fourth time of forgiving someone, especially if it's over the same thing, I start to have a hard time. I know that this is not what God wants, because he says in Matthew 18:21-22 that we should forgive a person not seven times, but seventy. In other words, we should always forgive people when they ask for it. My mom has always told me that this doesn't always have to mean that you fully accept the persons apology, it can just simply mean that you are choosing not to hold it against them anymore. If anyone has any suggestions about how to handle forgiveness, I would appreciate it.

Brittany ketter

Re: Chloe
on Monday, September 12, 2011 at 11:32 am

Hey! Thanks so much!

Forgiveness is rough sometimes - it's also a process. And sometimes there are things we confuse with forgiveness. For example:
-forgiveness is NOT saying "it's no big deal"
-forgiveness is NOT the same as forgetting or hoping to forget the offense.
-forgiveness is NOT saying "now everything will be as before"
-forgiveness is NOT saying "welcome back to every area of my life"
-Forgiveness is NOT saying "well, that takes care of that"

-forgiveness IS releasing the debt.
-forgiveness IS not the same and should not be confused with reconciliation reconciliation is about a restored relationship. Forgiveness focuses on the debt not the debtor.

Forgiveness is not instant healing. It's a process and it is a decision. It's an act of the will.
Acknowledge who you have to forgive and how you feel about it. Recognizing and giving up our hurt over s situation is just as important as releasing the person through forgiveness.
Act out forgiveness.

Bitterness = bondage
Forgiveness = freedom

Lack of forgiveness is the root of many problems.

Here are passages from God's word on forgiveness:
-Matthew 18:21-35
-Matthew 6:15
-Hebrews 12:15

Hope this helps! Prayers and blessings!

Carrie, with the LYWB team

Chloe
on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 3:43 pm

Dear Chloe,

So appreciate your desire to do the right thing in forgiving those who have offended you.
We don’t forgive the offenses committed against us for the sake of the offender but for our own sake. Hebrews 12:15 tells us that bitterness hinders our ability to receive the fullness of God’s grace (His power, ability and desire) that we so desperately need.
In Matthew 18 Jesus addresses the issue of unforgiveness and bitterness by telling the parable of the man who was forgiven much and yet refused to extend forgiveness to another. At the conclusion of this parable, Jesus says, “I forgave you all that debt because you entreated me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, even as I had mercy on you?” “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. “So shall My heavenly Father also do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
Choosing to forgive is only possible as we remember the forgiveness God has extended to us. God’s amazing love for you and me held Jesus on the cross. He suffered and died- extending us forgiveness of sin - while we were yet a sinner; while we continued to grieve God with your ongoing sinful acts (Rom. 5:8).
You must now choose (sometimes daily) to make a willful choice (not based on your feelings) to extend that same forgiveness to those who offend you. You choose by an act of your will to clear their record, to never again hold their offenses against him. You choose to bear the consequences of their sin against you through forgiveness rather than through bitterness.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss has written a great book called Choosing Forgiveness that you may want to get a copy of, Chloe; it will be a great help to you in working through areas of offense.

God bless you, friend…
Carrie

Andrea

A little something I wrote...
on Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 11:31 am

What is beauty?
Is it whatever you want it to be?
Is it outward or inward?
In the beginning God created everything to be beautiful. He said it was good. But since the fall, man has twisted beauty. The world throws it's own wrong, man-made version of beauty in your face. We have been lied to.
But the truth is that you are God's masterpiece, His workmanship, created to do good works. He knit you in your mother's womb. You are His work of art created for a purpose. Your character is unlike any other human being in the world.
Yes, you have sinned and deserve eternal death, but because of His love for you, He has made you even more beautiful than before through His son Jesus.
So the next time you see a TV commercial that says you are only beautiful if you have soft skin or friends that say being flirtatious is beautiful, you will know that true beauty comes from God.

Amelia

Re:
on Sunday, November 6, 2011 at 1:36 am

Hi, I agree that true beauty comes from within, and that is what God sees. He does not see this fles, he sees our spirits. But it's really hard when that is the first thing people sees and thats what draws their attention first. I struggle with feeling pretty or good about myself. I was born with a birth defect called cleft lip and palate amd this is definetely not attractive in the eyes of other people. But God has been helping me to see the true beauty that lies within me, and he places people in my life to encourage me. I am just going to continue to work on my inner beauty, which will shine through and overshadow my birth defect, which I feel makes me unattractive.

Brittany Ketter

Re: Amelia
on Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 1:30 am

Hey girl! I totally understand what you are saying! My cousin actually has that too.

Just remember that God doesn't make mistakes. :) You ARE beautiful and He has created you as so. True beauty is in the heart. You sound like you have a beautiful spirit! Don't get down about what you see when you look in the mirror...don't condemn yourself. The only one who can condemn and throw stones is the one who hasn't sinned...and guess what, he doesn't. :) Love and blessings my sweet! Let Jesus shine! You are a beautiful vessel for Him!

Mattea

Thanks Brittany!!
on Friday, January 13, 2012 at 9:47 am

Hey Brittany!!
I KNOW God is encouraging me...because this beauty is exactly what I struggle with!!I'm definitely going to memorize the powerful verses of 1 Peter 3:3-4!!!!

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