Big, Green, Ugly Monster for Halloween

There once was a young girl whose favorite holiday was Halloween. Over the years she dressed as Princess Ariel, a spa queen, and so many others.  Her favorite of all, however, was the beautiful ice princess costume she was allowed to buy, which was unlike her other homemade costumes.  The questions that always crossed her mind when choosing a costume were,  “would I look dazzling in that costume?” or “should I be Cat Girl for Halloween this year instead of a another princess?” Although she was not actually nor ever would be Princess Ariel, a spa queen, or an ice princess, for the day she was able to be whomever she wanted and the possibilities were endless.  As she got older though, Halloween was less exciting and thinking she was a princess was only accepted in her childhood imagination.  She started to think less and less about her Halloween costumes. Now, the questions that consumed her mind were things like “why does she look dazzling in that dress and I don't?” or “why are they talking to her instead of me?”  Instead of thinking she was a princess and being a carefree child, she became a big, green, ugly monster of jealousy that cared too much about what people thought.  She did not just wear this monster costume for Halloween; she started to wear it everyday.

I have a confession.  This little girl was me.  Maybe it was just me being a typical girl but these thoughts frequently cross my mind.  I don't think I am alone in this battle.  As women we no doubt struggle with comparing ourselves.  We compare our looks, we compare our personalities, we compare our bodies, we even compare our faith life.  This is something we need to work on or it will consume our thoughts and our lives and will no doubt ruin our relationships.

Anyone who struggles with jealousy most likely is not happy with that feeling. I think we can all agree jealousy is an ugly and all-consuming trait.  Proverbs 14:30 says, “A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.”  I have tried many times to get over those stupid, insecure thoughts but somehow they seep back into my mind.  It is important to decipher what exactly you are struggling with because it is through addressing these struggles that you will find God.  Although this battle might seem never ending, there is hope.  That hope comes from knowing God.

John 13:15 says, “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”  Instead of looking at others we seem to think are perfect and have it all together, we need to look at the few people that truly are perfect, inside and out: Jesus Christ and Momma Mary.  Both of them walked the same earth that we are walking and they should be the only people we want to be like.  They understand our struggles and know the tribulations of this world.  The only way you could become more beautiful is to become more like God and be His.

The other thing we MUST keep in mind is that God made us unique.  God did not want to make us robots.  He wants us to embrace our uniqueness.  He wants us to recognize the individual gifts He has given us.  We are irreplaceable and that is what makes mankind such a beautiful thing.  God sees our beauty and is left speechless by it.  Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians, “For you are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which belongs to God.”  The best way to realize we are unique and glorify God is to humble ourselves before the Lord.  Humility is not beautiful people thinking they are ugly or smart people thinking they are dumb.  Humility is seeing yourself as God sees you, no more, no less.  That is who we truly are and being who we were made to be is a beautiful thing.  Women are always more beautiful when you can see Christ in them.  We must have humble confidence in our beauty, our God-given beauty.

You must also know that we all struggle with jealousy and comparing ourselves.  The girl that you think has everything together and looks “perfect” from the outside, no doubt has struggles of her own and more than likely has some issues of insecurity too.  We must again humbly build each other up and let each other know of the beauty deep down inside that we know is true.  Let others know they are more than adequate and also believe that you are too.

Every time you find yourself thinking jealous thoughts, realize these thoughts are not of God.  Demand that the Devil gets out of your mind so that you can find God’s peace.  Satan wants to neutralize us as women, but we were made to be different and we need to embrace our different gifts.

It saddens me that at one time all of us were so carefree and loving of one another and now as we are older, we over think everything we do.  Go back to being the princess you once believed you were.  Let that be your prayer.  Know you are dazzling.  Rejoice in your uniqueness. Don’t be a big, green, ugly monster of jealousy.  Once you are stripped of your makeup, clothes and nonsense worrying, that is where you will find your beauty.  Jealousy is a lack of belief in your own beauty.  So ask Jesus to show you your beauty!  You will see how truly beautiful you are inside and out.

In Him,
Olivia