Project 31

So I have been reading Meg's blog for a while now.  She has taken on a challenge called Project 31.  It is a reflection project that encourages women to reflect on their beauty, as the Lord sees it and to celebrate the beautiful people and things of life.  The project is based on Proverbs 31:10-31. I have been thinking about taking on the challenge myself and finally decided to give it a go.  I cannot guarantee that these posts will be inspiring or insightful, but I can guarantee that I will grow in the process.  This is all I can ask and pray that the Lord will help me be a better wife and woman of Christ through these reflections.  So here we go.   

Day 1: What does beauty mean to you? 

This is such a loaded question.  To me beauty is being completely yourself from the inside out.  For me as a woman, I have always been a little self-conscious, but at the same time able to develop my confidence over the years.  To me, beauty radiates from the inside out.  It isn't about the clothes you wear or the people you call your friends.  When you are able to look at yourself and be comfortable with the armor God has given you, that is beauty.  Beauty is striving every single day to be a better person, to never settle, but to grow.  Beauty is investing in the lives of others by using your character and radiating from the inside.  Whether you are sweet, goofy, introverted, extroverted, a thinker, a nerd, an athlete, or a little edgy, when you are comfortable with yourself from the inside out and are able to embrace yourself with an air of comfort and confidence I believe you are beautiful.  Have you ever met those people that are so genuine it's like you can see their heart?...Those people whose smile will melt your soul and make you feel completely comfortable?  You know exactly who they are because they know who they are...these people are few and far between, but they are so comfortable with who they are that they consistently embrace their beauty and are able to convey this to others, not in an arrogant way, but in an inspiring manner.  I think when you embrace your own self and are able to be comfortable in your own beauty then you are able to more easily see the beauty in others and it becomes a contagious chance to encourage someone else in their pursuit of self-actualization.  Being genuine from the inside out and letting that spillover into the lives of others, that is beauty.  To me, beauty is not a visual sensation, but a feeling that is obvious from the moment you meet someone.  Beauty is a combination of things and is not created but embraced.  If you are able to take your God-given compassion, boldness, creativity...all those spiritual gifts and bring them to the outside, that my friends is beauty.