This morning, I watched a Dove commercial about women and their self-image. I was not expecting such a powerful message to come out of that 6 minute video. Watch it for yourself:
As a woman and a lover of all things beauty and fashion, I’ve had my fair share of self esteem issues. I’m sure that all girls struggle with that.
Am I pretty enough?
Skinny enough?
Athletic?
Blonde?
Smart?
Funny?
Do I have freckles?
I can’t wear glasses
No braces for me
Oh gosh, another pimple
Why can’t I have blue eyes?
My hair isn’t curly enough
My boobs are too small
Why don’t I have a gap between my thighs?
My face is too round
I’m fat
Ugly
Disgraceful
These thoughts occur in the minds of women all over the world, every single day. We all struggle with what we look like and how we feel. I was so touched by this video and how real and raw it was. Those women didn’t think they were beautiful at all. They critiqued and criticized every part of their body and face, but no one else did. As soon as they saw the portrait described by another person, you could see the sparkle in those women’s eyes.
We need to stop judging ourselves. In Psalm 139:14 it says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made!” It’s true that we are made in the image of God as His beautiful daughters. Our physical appearance do not matter as much as our insides.
The next time you are tempted to criticize yourself, just watch this video. Think about how you are as a person and then you can say whether that part of you is beautiful or not. You are gorgeous. You are perfect. You are His.
