It may seem like a “Christianeze” to say you were created to be “like God” because this is not an easy concept to grasp, depending on what you have experienced in life. Most of us have an especially hard time trying to grasp the idea that a woman’s desire to be beautiful is actually part of her being like God.
I know many women who feel guilt and shame for their desire–and I’ve walked in their shoes. Often we do not tell anyone about our complex beauty routines, services or surgeries because we want others to think our beauty is “natural.” The truth is, we don’t want others to know that we long to be lovely.
We tend to look at each other and long for such natural beauty and yet we say “only her hairdresser knows for sure” and laugh, because laughter keeps the emotions more on the surface.
There was no battle within the feminine heart at the start of creation. Eve wasn’t striving to be beautiful; she was a confident woman of God who knew who she was. She must have been; she walked around in that garden with her husband and Creator without a thought of her stark naked figure!
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Genesis 2:25
I love to say there are two kinds of women in the world: the kind who walks into the room and says “Here I am!” and the kind who walks in and says “Oh, there you are!” I think Eve was the kind who didn’t give a thought to herself. I can just imagine her walking through the garden and enjoying all the beautiful flowers and waterfalls, with all the birds and butterflies leading the way and the leopards and cheetahs brushing along her legs as she walked beside them. I imagine her and Adam sharing their hopes and dreams with their Lord as they were exploring all the landscapes and creatures that He had put before them.
“Indeed it was very good.” That is what God Himself said about His creation when He was done. This was His plan. Man and woman enjoying Him, enjoying each other and enjoying all that He had created for them. Free to rest and to play; free to adventure out together to discover all their hopes and dreams.
His creation was beautiful. True, pure beauty. Confident, inviting, comforting, peaceful beauty. Beauty that draws you to it and causes you to seek after the One Who created it. And Eve was the epitome of it all. That’s what God’s plan was for her to be. That’s what God’s plan is for you and me to be as women: a reflection of who He is.
Beautiful.
It all changed though, when Eve listened to the voice of another. That will be tomorrow’s blog.
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Catrina Welch is an image- and life-coach whose message is not as much “what not to wear” as it is, “Know Who You Are,” which is the title of her book of guidelines for your personal image identity. Catrina has also written a Bible study to help women overcome their image issues. It is titled Supreme MakeOver: a Rich and Refreshing Devotional Experience. Her other books include Footprints Through the Sand: a Consolidation of Life-altering stories about Loving and Loosing a Trisomy-18 Baby and Confident Beauty: Reflecting the One Who Made You with the Images in Your Mirror and Your Soul, which will be available soon.
If you are interested in getting these books or having Catrina come speak at your event, you can contact her at www.CatrinaWelch.com or on facebook.
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