FROM THE INSIDE OUT

Good morning, friend!  I hope you are ready to enjoy this weekend!  I know I am!

1 Peter 3:3-4 tells us that beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.  Rather 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.   

I read this and think about how we look at ourselves in the mirror.  What do we see in our reflection?  I remember a time not long ago when life had really taken a toll on me.  I was a Christian woman, but I was emotionally spent and exhausted.  I didn't like the person I saw in the mirror anymore.  And when I found myself at the end of my rope, hurt, alone, and desperate to pull myself back together, I began to lean HARD into Jesus. I was depending on Him.  As I spent more and more time with Him...time in the word, devotions, journaling...things began to change, everything began to change.  My circumstances didn't necessarily change.  I was still by myself, but not alone...Praise God!  I never had been, I just needed reminded of that.  There was a change happening from the inside out.  A process of restoration and healing in my heart that can only come from Jesus.  It wasn't instantaneous.  I had work to do (and sometimes still do), but I began to feel joy and peace again.  He filled me up the way only HE can.  What felt empty and dead began to have life again.  He gave me beauty for ashes, joy for my mourning, and a garment of praise for my despair (Isaiah 61:3).  The healing of my heart became evident on the outside as well.  A sweet friend has said to me, "I remember when I saw joy return to your eyes."  That statement still makes me smile 😊.  

A healthy heart is where real beauty begins.  The rest of what a woman does to feel pretty is just extra.  We are so much more than what we see in the mirror.  Our internal beauty is of great worth in God's sight.  He is concerned about our hearts.  He loves us like NO other.  

Friend, I hope you love the person you see in the mirror and if you don't, I hope you'll lean into Jesus and let Him restore you from the inside out 💖

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