Verse for the Week:

Psalm 139:13-16; For you formed my inward parts; you wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.

Topic: “Beautiful by Design”

I hope you took some time last week to narrow in on a Personal Life Theme for this new year.  Let it be a compass of sorts to steer your life path to the places God wants you to go. And keep us posted here at MomsHope—we would love to share in your journey for 2016 as we are all in this together.

This week let’s take a look at how God made each of us to be uniquely beautiful.

Yes! Beautiful! You may not see it or feel it or believe it, but you are. You are beautiful and it is time to embrace it.

When I look at my life, I have less than a stellar track record when it comes to believing God made me beautiful. Why? For years, I focused on outward beauty—how the world defines beauty—instead of the fact that God made me His kind of beautiful.

I spent lots of time and energy trying to be something and someone I was not, setting an impossible standard and then beating myself up for not achieving it. It was a destructive cycle of inauthenticity, and it took a huge toll on my self-image.

Fortunately, God is a God of grace and mercy and I am a different person today. But I had to ask him to help me heal. To heal my mind of how I saw myself and instead, help me to see what he sees. Our scripture is a perfect picture of how God sees us and of the care and love he put into making each one of us.

Being a single mom is a very special assignment. It requires strength, wisdom, patience, and lots of faith. These qualities have been woven into the very fabric of your being, whether you know it or not. They have because God loves you and has equipped you for this special purpose. And that makes you especially beautiful.

I know it is tough. Really tough. We are often knee-deep in real-life responsibilities…maintaining a job, keeping the house running, kids alive, bills paid,  not to mention trying to take care of our own needs. All of these tasks tend to make the days of single parenting  linger and weigh heavy sometimes. I get it. And under the weight of all that heaviness, it is hard to feel beautiful. But you are.

God created you with his very own hands. Take a moment to re-read our scriptures for this week and revel in the care he took to make you…well, you.

What is your story? Do you struggle to see the unique kind of beautiful God made you to be? Has life run you down and stolen your beauty?

Well, it is time! Time to celebrate you! And I’d love it if you would join me. You work so hard and put in such effort and that in and of itself makes you beautiful. It’s a special kind of beautiful. It  is the kind of inward beauty that radiates outwardly. I see it, do you?

Prayer:

Lord, Thank you for the work of your hands. Help me to see the reflection of beauty you have made me to be. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Reflect and Respond:

If you are struggling with anything about yourself that feels less than beautiful, try and use the truth of our scriptures for this week as a filter, and take another look. I bet the reflection you see will be beautiful as it is a reflection of the unique kind of divine beauty God designed you to be. Go ahead, try it.

Remember, you are not alone. Be blessed this week and be BEAUTIFULLY YOU!

Dori