Her clothes are well-made and elegant, and she always faces tomorrow with a smile. -- Proverbs 31:25
Does God care how you look? Does God care what you wear?
The following quote from this week's reading provides an answer to the questions. "God doesn't care what style of clothes we wear or even if they match; but I believe God does care that we love ourselves enough to present ourselves confidently and so our families are proud to be with us."
I have always taken pride in my appearance. I think I dressed up every day for school from first grade thru college (or at least 99 percent of my college days). I always thought that it was important to have a clean, polished appearance. Does this mean I wore the best, trendiest clothes... far from it. I remember each year my mother took me back to school shopping and we only had a set amount to spend. I made the most of what we had and took pride in my new clothes.
The importance of taking pride in appearance was echoed when I went to college in the Deep South and joined a sorority. I heard comments that rules of appearance included always wearing lipstick (you never knew who you would run into in Walmart), wearing toe nail polish with open toed shoes, and never letting those bra straps hang out! These are thoughts I've carried with me back to my home in the North. As the reading reminds us, it's all about taking pride in our appearance.
Did all this change when I became a mom? Except for those first few postpartum weeks, I've tried to keep myself put together... and for the most part I'm doing OK. What about you? Could you use a haircut or new sweater to update your wardrobe? Spend a few minutes taking care of you... as your an example for your children.
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Good advice, Jennifer! I can certainly remember you always dressing up for class at Troy while I was in a t-shirt with a hat on! I have certainly never been a great dresser and really don’t know how to accessorize. (Those are cute shoes, but what would I wear them with?) My mom always tells me to put lipstick on, wear more jewelry, and so on. I just don’t get it. But I do get taking care of my body so that I can feel confident. I have always tried to work out, but never successfully changed my body until I started going to a gym regularly after undergrad. My arms looked great in my wedding gown, and for once, I felt beautiful.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I gained the weight back, but took it off right before I got pregnant with Parker. I was really able to enjoy my pregnancy and not worry about every pound. And I learned how to control my appetite and have will-power. I am now thinner than ever, and I really enjoy taking care of my body by eating well and exercising. I have begun to treat my body as God created me to treat it…with respect and love.
I have to keep a balance between lazy glutton and obsessed, however. It is so easy to focus too much on outer appearance. Jennifer is right, though. We need to take an interest in ourselves so that our children can see how to respect their own images. After all, we are created in the image of God himself. So, whether you work on hair and makeup or your post-baby body, embrace the beautiful woman that you are!