On days when it is hard to find myself beautiful and my mind is filled with ugly thoughts of self-disgust, I focus on the simple truth of beauty: I am beautiful because God made me so. The Creator of the whole world calls me his daughter, and He delights in me, and for no other reason then that can I believe I am beautiful!

When my husband, friends, and loved ones tell me I am beautiful I can easily understand and believe that fact in my head, but it is so hard for it to become true in my heart. Honest, true, deep beauty radiates from within; from my spirit and who I am as a woman. As I grow older and learn from the wise women in my life, I have seen that beauty isn’t something that I want and therefore strive towards, always trying new makeup tricks or to lose a few more pounds. Beauty comes from embracing and living life. So now, instead of focusing on being more beautiful, I try to focus on being a woman of grace, wisdom, and contentment, letting my beauty shine naturally.