‘”My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.’ 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
I have been feeling very weak lately. While reading Captivating by John & Stasi Eldridge, I have been challenged to look at how I present myself and how I act in daily situations. The heart of a woman is a magical thing. God made women in the image of his beauty, therefore, every woman has a beauty to unvail. This beauty is in her hands and in order to share it she must do three things:
1. She must make herself vulnerable. – Putting up a wall doesn’t let people appreciate your beauty and your heart. It pushes them away and that is not what we were made for. We were made to bring beauty to the world. Therefore, we can only offer our true beauty by becoming vulnerable and offering our hearts in situations that we are uncertain of.
2. She must offer her desire, not her demand. -Controlling women are women who have put up their wall. Emasculating a man will not make him love you. Pressuring him to do something or be something will not work. We must offer our desire. That is another part of being vulnerable – we must open our hearts to our desires and hope that our beauty will be seen.
3. She must offer mercy and kindness. – Women are made to be strong and fierce but they are also made to be kind and merciful. People will open up to you if you show the goodness of your heart and your willingness to help or comfort them. It is through this that our beauty is seen.
In order to love a man we cannot take the question “Am I lovely” to him.. We must take it to God. Because just as we are the product of Fallen Eve, men are the product of Fallen Adam. They strive to show their strength and at times cannot answer the question we long to have answered. God will always answer the truth, yes you are lovely. And knowing that God, the creator of the Universe, love you and thinks you are beautiful is the most amazing revelation. It is through him that your true beauty will show.
At times I struggle to not put up a wall, I struggle to trust people and to be vulnerable to them. I struggle to not strive to be something more instead of knowing that God made me who I am for a reason and through him I am beautiful. I do not need to be more. It is comforting to know that God is with me through my weaknesses and he will help me through them.
Thank you God, you are amazing.
