Can I be honest with you for a minute? I kinda like getting compliments. I love to give compliments MORE but, there is not much that boosts my confidence more than when someone tells me "You look great!" or "I love that outfit!" or "Your hair is so pretty!". Admittedly though, I'm not the greatest at responding to compliments about my looks. One of the first instances I can think of is when I was about eight years old and I met my mom's boyfriend's mother for the first time and she said "She is so beautiful!" and I mumbled "Ugh. No I'm not." My mom quickly chastised me and said " You say thank you!" but I didn't want to. I didn't believe what the woman had said to me. I was at such an awkward stage in my growth, I was probably 4'10 and maybe 80 pounds sopping wet and even less coordinated than I am now (those of you who know the true goofy me are laughing I'm sure.) I couldn't see what this lady, or my mom, or anyone saw when they looked at me, and I certainly couldn't understand why they would define it as 'beauty.'
Looking back, I realize that I was just mimicking what my mother did. That's not to say that she's at fault here, but my mom didn't have the best self-esteem. This was a result of her coming late in life for her parents and growing up believing that she was a mistake. My mother is a beautiful woman by any definition, but to this day I tell her she needs to learn to take a compliment. Turns out I need to take my own advice. My husband says I fish for compliments, asking if I look okay or if he notices the different :insert makeup/hair/perfume/clothing/skin: that I've used. And when he inevitably responds with "You look great babe!" I still do the "Ugh! No I don't." Somewhere along the way, I have forgotten who made me. I didn't do it intentionally, and I never realized how much I overlooked it, but how insulting must that feel to the God who loves me and has woven me together so intricately? I say this to myself, but also to you who are reading this. HE MAKES NO MISTAKES. That nose you hate; those thin lips; the big eyes that you were picked on for when you were 12; the four head that you refer to as a seven head; the double or triple chin you swear you'd love to have sliced off; those chubby rosy cheeks; the wrinkly jawline; that big ole zit that just popped up this morning.
He knows every single part of each and every one of us because He created it. And He said it was good. Let that sink in today. I know I need to. The flesh of me wants to focus on the imperfections, but My God says there is no flaw in me.
"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end." -Ecclesiastes 3:11
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