Today, I want to talk about beauty, specifically, what I believe God’s definition of beauty is.
📖 Psalm 139:13–14 says:
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
This post was inspired by my trips to Africa.
While there, I was struck by how many of the women I met carried themselves with such confidence, a kind that felt deeply rooted and unshaken. Of course, comparison exists everywhere but it felt less suffocating than what I often see (and experience) in the Western world.
What stood out most was how older women embraced aging with grace. They didn’t resist it, they wore their years with peace. 🌷
On both my trips to Africa, first as a teen, then as an adult, I felt something shift in me. I felt beautiful, not because of how I looked but because of how accepted I felt. I didn’t feel the need to impress or pretend. I could simply be.
Coming home, standing in front of the giant mirror in my bathroom, I suddenly thought: “Why am I so quick to criticise myself? Who am I trying to please, others or Christ?”
That question, which is rooted in Galatians 1:10, has stayed with me ever since:
This thought often leads me to another verse from Proverbs 31:30 which says, “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”
Looking back, I’m actually grateful for what seemed to be a “the lack of mirrors” in Africa. With no constant reflection to critique, I stopped inventing flaws. I wasn’t watching myself. I was living; engaging with others, listening, loving and laughing.
If you’ve ever wrestled with comparison, I hope this post encourages you. Please remember: you are fearfully and wonderfully made. 💗
And if you need a practical push, maybe try covering or even removing your mirrors for a few days. It sounds small but it might help you look inward rather than outward, and reflect on the kind of beauty that lasts.
Soon, I’ll be sharing some of the quotes that have helped shape my own journey toward becoming less vain and more grounded, growing freer from the comparison trap. 🌱
Many Blessings, Grace. Xx
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