Let Me Cliche You

Not that men don't need to hear this, but...

This post is for the ladies.

Now springtime has arrived and the weather is getting warmer and the sun is starting to shine...OKAY, so SOMEWHERE on this Earth springtime has arrived, etc. etc.

Point is, warm weather brings more than just spring spirit and Easter and daydreams of summer.  Warm weather brings the short shorts, the tight tank tops, the bikinis, and you can use your imagination for the rest.

And I know, I know, I KNOW.  Biggest. Cliche. Ever.  But, nonetheless, I'm gonna say it: Girls, ladies, women - modest is hottest, y'all.  

Once you've stopped cringing from that horrific phrase that I'm sure you've heard on the lips of many, I'd like to go into some more depth since "modest is hottest" doesn't really cut it - at least not for me.

I will now dub you with my opinions whether you like it or not - whether you agree with it or not.   These apply not only for modesty, but for your own positive body image.  And before I get up on my glorified soap box, I'd like to say that I am not preaching self-righteously, like I've never made any mistakes before.  Absolutely not.  I get it, I really do.  Don't forget I'm also a teenage girl in this sex-crazed, "beauty"-centered world.  I've struggled with making good, modest choices, too.  And I am by no means accusing anyone or patting myself on the back.  I am truly writing this as much for myself as for anyone else.

On modesty:

1. If it makes you uncomfortable, don't wear it.  Don't put something on simply because you want to look like someone else.  If it makes you uncomfortable, just don't wear it.  Your body is more precious than any social pressure to be someone or something you are not.

2. (Most) of us don't actually want to see it.  If you wear something to exemplify or show off any part(s) of your body, keep in mind that there is a very small population of us that actually want to see.  The rest of us (the majority of us) don't care for it.  At all.  And that small population that does you will find does not have the motives you might think.  So just keep everything wear it belongs.

3. The kind of clothes you wear will attract the same kind of guys.  You may not realize it, but what you wear says a lot about you.  Especially to other guys.  The way you dress sends a signal - what kind of signal are sending?  Is it the signal you want?  Are they the guys you deserve?  If you can't respect yourself enough in the way you dress, you won't find a guy who respects you or your body, either.

4. You're only hurting yourself. If you choose to dress immodestly, it can only have bad effects on you and your self-image.

5. Just because your friends wear it does not make it right to wear.  TRUST me, I know how easy it is to cave to peer pressure.  Especially when it's your closest friends.  But, you need to fight.  You need to keep standing strong in your modesty and in your beliefs.  Be an example to others.  Even if you're mocked or ridiculed for being modest, think of what's more important.  Looking like the world, or honoring God, who made you and loves you.

6. Bikinis. Now I don't want to go off on a tangent, but I just had to say something about bikinis.  Sigh.  Ladies, they're not attractive.  They just aren't.  Why is it EXTREMELY socially unacceptable to wear a bra and underwear in public, yet somehow, when you go to the beach or the pool - BANG - it's perfectly fine to wear your underwear?  'Cause let's face it, that's basically what bikinis are.  Bikinis put your body on display for everyone to see - and maybe that's what people want.  But that's definitely not what God wants.

7. Don't make it your goal to look "hot" or "sexy", make it your goal to feel beautiful in your own skin - and not some artificial skin the world tells us we need.

On true beauty and self-image:

1. When you go to look in the mirror, go having already decided that what you will see is beautiful. So many women go through their lives miserable because they aren't "beautiful enough".  You need to make a decision - make a decision to be beautiful.  Beauty is not appearances.  Beauty is a decision and a way of living.  Beauty shines through your words, your works, and your faith.  It has nothing to do with weight, height, or perfection.

2. Be beautiful like you, not beautiful like them. Don't compare yourself to others or wish you looked like others.  Be proud of who you are.

3. Get some confidence. Once you're comfortable in your own skin, you have no need to look like anyone else.  I'm not the skinniest or the prettiest or the funniest person in the world.  But I don't need to be.  I love who I am and I don't need to change that to meet anyone's standards.

4. Beauty fades. Nothing lasts, so there's no point in wasting time in money trying to make yourself beautiful.  Enough with the anti-wrinkle creams (we all know they don't work anyway) and fake tans and fake eyelashes.  Growing old is beautiful, and growing old is inevitable.  It simply means you've lived and loved and are wiser and richer than you were before.  There is beauty in everything, at every stage of life, just not everyone chooses to see it.

5. Be healthy, not vain. Healthy diets and exercise are both wonderful things.  And important, too.  God wants us to respect and take care of the bodies He gave us.  But make sure your motive is to be healthy, not to be skinny.

6. You're not alone. I think all of us women can relate.  We ALL have days (lots of days) when we feel hideous.  When our hair won't cooperate.  When we feel fat.  When we have pimples protruding on our foreheads.  When we stand in front of the mirror and criticize everything about us that we possible can.  We're all like that, unfortunately.

Sometimes I close my eyes and wonder what God sees when He thinks of true beauty.

The answer is you, darling.

He said so - "He has made everything beautiful in it's time." Ecclesiastes 3:11

God made, and is making, you beautiful.  When He thinks of beauty, He thinks of His creations, and that includes you.  God looks at the heart.

Hope everyone has a GREAT week - I've been saving this post for a while and it will probably be my last for a couple weeks because I am rather engulfed in the musical right now!! ;)

Come see it -
Sasquatch: the Musical

April 11, 12, and 13 at 7:00
High school auditorium
Tickets: $7 adults, $5 students

...Love, Anna...

My inspiration: "Charm is deceptive and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30

P.S. This post was rather rushed, so if there are any mistakes I apologize! :)