She is Clothed in Strength and Dignity…

She is clothed in strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.

Proverbs 31:25

A couple of weeks ago, I had this horrible dream where I was in front of a bunch of people in a bathrobe, but no matter how hard I tried, the bathrobe wouldn’t cover me up. I tried sitting down, so no one could see me, but even when I sat, they could still see my naked body. It was awful!

In our culture, we are often so critical of how we look, and we put a lot of thought into what we put on our bodies. We want to feel good, and we want to flatter the body we have. But when it comes down to it, we just really REALLY don’t want people to see what is underneath. The need to keep our bodies covered started in the Garden of Eden, and hasn’t changed much to this day. 

But what happens when we stop focusing on the clothes that we wear to cover our bodies, and instead focus on how we present ourselves in a different way?

 

Our culture has created a level of self-consiousness that makes it hard to focus on what’s important. We wonder what people think when they see us. 

“Do I look fat?”

“Will anyone notice that I just worse this shirt 3 days ago?”

“My hair is a wreck, I can’t believe I’m leaving the house this way!”

Do any of these sound familiar?? Questions like these and a million others may flood your mind every day, but let me ask you one thing:

Do you even notice what someone else wore three days ago? Do you ever look at another woman and wonder how she left the house with her hair like that?

The answer is likely no. But I bet you DO notice if the woman with perfect hair and a gorgeous smile treated you bad. And I bet you do notice when someone dressed to kill in designer clothes hurts your feelings. You don’t notice what they wear or how they look, but you notice how their spirit made you feel.

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.  

Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 

1 Peter 3:3-4

God tells us in His Word what’s important. 
And it’s not what we wear or how we look. 
It’s our heart. 
It’s how we treat others. 
It’s how we show love, kindness and compassion.
It’s how we are available when someone needs us.
It’s sharing God’s truth when someone needs to hear it. 
 
These are the things that define beauty. In Proverbs 31:25, the woman described clothes herself with strength and dignity. Strength comes from her faith in Jesus Christ, and dignity comes from living a life honoring God. 
 
It’s easy to get caught up in physical beauty, and it’s actually difficult to not care what others think of us. But just remember that the beauty that others notice has nothing to do with the clothes that you wear or how you style your hair. It’s the woman God created you to be, and the heart that you put out in the world. That is what they will remember when they think of you.
 
So next time you catch yourself in the mirror wondering if you are fit to face the world, instead of focusing on the fine lines, crooked smile, lumps and bumps or old clothes, focus instead on the true Godly beauty you radiate. How can you make THAT more beautiful with each and every personal interaction you have each day? 
 
How you live matters and it affects everyone around you. So when you look in the mirror, ask yourself “am I living a life of beauty?” 
 
That alone will change how everyone sees you everywhere you go ♥️
 
Do you know someone who could use this reminder? Forward this post to her with a little note that you think she’s beautiful.
 
 
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2 Responses

  1. So I am a guy and customer on Angie’s devotional list. A husband for over 35 years. A father. A son. A brother. I raised two daughters who are now 29 and 32 years old. I can go to Home Depot and then down the street to Sephora and feel equally comfortable. I know WAY more than I ever thought I would about the women in my life and in general.

    Here’s the short story to any woman reading this no matter how young or old you are:
    All women are beautiful if they do three simple things:

    -smile
    A woman who smiles and looks happy is always beautiful. Always. Something about any woman smiling at you just makes your day. Men love it when women smile and say hello. Because we all think your too beautiful to even notice us anyway.

    -be confident
    Pony tail, straight hair, curly hair, been five days since you washed your hair, baseball cap, thinning hair. No one remembers but you. Just own your look and get on with your day/week/month/life. Very few things are more attractive than a confident woman.

    -don’t listen when other women say cruel things about you.
    Women dress for other women because they think they are judged. And they are. Women are mean to other women. It can be a sneer, a “up and down look”, or a condescending comment.

    How many blogs or articles do you ever read about men and their looks. It’s not that we don’t care, it’s that we just don’t think about it that much. If ever. Men have this confidence that we did our best, and we hope that some confident & smiling women may talk to us.

    Don’t believe it? We are limited in where we can go now, but next time you see any man anywhere, have the courage (confidence) to say something like “I really like that blue shirt, it just seems to be the perfect color on you.” Pick your own compliment, you will get a shocked look and then a huge smile. Some of us will say Thank You. Most of us may say nothing because we are totally surprised that some girl talked to us. I guarantee that not one man will say “thanks, and you left the house looking like that?” Just won’t happen.
    Smile. Be confident. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad. You control all three of these things to be beautiful every single day.

    1. Dan,
      I always love your insights!!! That’s why it’s great to have a few men here in this corner of the internet 🙂 You aren’t afraid of the ruffles and pink here, you are here to lift up and encourage the women who gather here!
      Thank you so much for being such a great friend ?

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