Hellooo Beautiful

Founders Note: Today on the blog we have our dear friend Katrina. She sent us her post via email and we instantly responded that we were definitely going to use it! Today she is sharing her heart on this months theme beauty, so we hope you are encouraged by her post as much as we were! So be sure to check out her designs and blog, cause she's awesome! 

"You look beautiful!"

Cue the eye roll, an excuse or a denial, and if you're lucky, there's a quiet "thank you" slipped in there to keep from being rude.

Sound familiar?

I've had too many of these encounters, and have even found myself delivering the eye roll to a well-meaning friend.  Why is it so hard to take a compliment like this?

"Tell Me I'm Pretty"

I find it interesting how Satan will turn the most beautiful things (I'm talking about you here, by the way) into a twisted, backwards appearance of the truth in our minds?  We no longer see the value of what is right in front of us, instead we created a "standard" and compare everything else to it.  Beauty has been stream-lined.  But that's not how it is supposed to be.  I'm not typing this because I have it all figured out, or because I have found complete satisfaction and contentment in my own beauty, or even because I'm on to the devils schemes and therefore immune.  But rather, I came to a realization a couple of years ago that changed my outlook, and I think it is worth sharing.

I'm an illustrator and I am daily surrounded by comparison, competition and standards.  But I love to create gifts for my friends. To watch their delight at receiving one of my drawings, knowing that the piece was made specifically for their enjoyment.  And I love to receive these types of gifts too!  My very favorite painting is the one that my husband did for me while we were dating. It is not his best, but it is the one that I treasure, and the one hanging front and center in our master bedroom.

You may not be an artist, but you probably are a crafter, a scrapper, a musician or maybe you are the "shopper".  Can you imagine giving a long planned, long anticipated gift to a friend, only to have them turn around and point out everything they thought was wrong with it? Comparing it to the gifts that were given to others, scoffing at it or even trying to hid it?  How crippling that would be, to see your hard work unappreciated and unloved.

I am flawed in all that I create, but God is not.  And guess what: He created you.  Everything that He creates is perfect, just the way he wanted, no eraser needed, no undo.  All the more heartbreaking to have the work of such a Master Creator criticized.  Song of Songs 4:7 "all beautiful you are my darling, there is no flaw in you".  You may not be perfect in your eyes--eyes that have been exposed to the impossible and twisted view of our culture--but you are exactly how your Creator wanted you to be, and He delights in you (Zeph 3:17).  Song of Songs is full of verses about God's purpose and love for marriage, but it is also a place where God reveals his love for you.  A love note from our real Prince Charming.

I was smacked in the face with this one morning as I was examining my thin lips in the mirror, longing for a fuller pout (and while I'm at it, a smaller nose).  How often I had criticized the work of my Savior and Maker.  I may not have nice, full lips, but they smile just fine and they can speak the words that He gives me.

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Hi, my name is Katrina.  I am a full time servant of Christ, lover of husband, maker of home, teacher of art, designer of blogs and painter of birdies.  I blog at Katrina: Illustration & Design, feel free to come and visit :)

Check out my portfolio!

Instagram: TrinaCrouch

Etsy Shop: Katrina Illustration