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When my friend Jaime Wright first brought up the idea of a blog tour featuring posts on beauty — requiring blog authors to post a picture of themselves without makeup — I said, thanks but no thanks.

I’m 35 weeks pregnant and let’s just say…it’s not been so kind in the face department. In other words, I’ve struggled with acne throughout my pregnancy. So the idea of posting a pic of myself without makeup to hide these imperfections from the world was…well, scary.

Because I want the world to see me like this:

A cute pregnant girl with flawless skin.

The truth is, makeup covers a lot of imperfections. And so does Photoshop.

But as I saw more and more of my friends taking up the challenge — saying, “yes, I’ll do this…even though it makes me nervous!” — I wondered what my excuse was. Because really, pregnancy isn’t an excuse (to avoid this, that is…it IS an excuse to eat lots of ice cream! Hehe).

In fact, pregnancy is one of those times in a woman’s life when she feels particularly vulnerable. If you’ve been pregnant, you know how weird it is to not feel comfortable in your own skin — which is always stretching, by the way. Your body does things you didn’t know it could do…in both bad and good ways.

There are kankles. Stretch marks. Love handles. Acne. Tired, puffy eyes from lack of sleep.

None of these things show in the picture above. Photoshop and makeup have the ability to whisk all of that unpleasantness away. It presents a false image. And no, there’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting gorgeous photos to remind us of this special time in our lives.

But…what about authenticity?

If makeup and Photoshop cover up our true physical appearance, might we also be covering up our true spiritual and emotional states? Whether you’re pregnant or not, many of us rarely share our true selves.

Why? The same reason we love makeup.

Because we’re afraid of rejection. If we show our true selves, will people still love us?

Because we compare ourselves. If we show our true selves, will we look as good — on the inside and outside — as so-and-so?

Because, ultimately, we are valuing the wrong things.

God created each of us — He created YOU — as a work of art, a thing of beauty. His Word says, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:14).

That’s not talking about the made-up you or the “you” that you allow others to see. Because God? He sees everything: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

And He loves you anyway.

You don’t have to fear rejection from God. He will never reject you.

You don’t have to compare yourself to others for God to love you. You are a unique creation He cherishes.

Let’s start valuing the RIGHT things. Let’s stop caring about how we look on the outside and realize that EVEN WITHOUT MAKEUP, WE ARE BEAUTIFUL…especially without makeup. Because without it, we are real. And real is beautiful.

Because this acne and these tired eyes I’m dealing with? This. Right. Here?

I’m choosing to embrace them. Because it means there’s a little person growing inside of me. Someone who God created. A mother is a warrior — and these are my battle scars.

Embrace what you see as your imperfections.

Embrace who YOU truly are.

God has…and He loves you in spite of them. He loves you FOR them.

Bottom line — He loves us. It’s time we start loving ourselves.

Your Turn: I’d love to see a photo of your pure beauty — without makeup, without fear! If you don’t feel comfortable with that, that’s okay too. Let’s talk: why do you think women have such a hard time embracing their own beauty? And if you’ve ever been pregnant, what physical aspect of that made you the most uncomfortable with your body?



For more Face Me Blog Tour inspiration, check out posts by these amazing authors!

Gabrielle Meyer
Nick Kording
Joseph Courtemanche
Jaime Wright
Carrie Wisehart
Emilie Anne Hendryx
Andrea Michelle Wood
Sarah Baker
Kristy Cambron
Rachel Britz
Cara Putman
Stacy Monson
Laurie Tomlinson
Katie Ganshert
Katherine Reay