How I wish I could say to you all that I do yoga to relieve stress. But the sad truth is, I actually just wear yoga pants and do just about everything else besides what they’re made for. Ha.. OK, I’m working on it.
In reality, I pick up a canvas and a paint brush.
I wanted to paint the main theme of ‘Up’ with colorful balloons lifting a house away into the clouds and so I began…
While being so engrossed in getting the painting right and not proving myself to be amateur, I found myself constantly face-palming leaving marks of blue paint all across my forehead. I went on determined to finish what I started while covering up mistakes along the way… but I came to the realization hard and fast about something more meaningful than just my personal dilemma with painting.
God is the painter. You are his canvas. Here you are pointing out flaws and simply everything wrong with yourself. Apply this: You are criticizing yourself while his intention was that you are a masterpiece! How does God feel when you don’t appreciate that?
Before I begin my rant, let me just say that I have spent countless hours criticizing my own self. I have spent years trying remedies and getting prescribed medicine to cure my case of acne. I would also wonder why I couldn’t get my mom’s better genes and I would complain for taking after my dad. I took up Track in 7th grade and continued it through high school to get the ‘right’ body. While I did come to love this sport, I started it for the wrong reasons. I wanted to grow and add some meat on my bones because I was far too thin to catch that boy’s eye. From watching YouTube tutorials on how to hide blemishes and pinning away endless beauty tips to make that boy notice me more, I learned something. It’s not worth it. You’re already beautiful. You just don’t see it because as humans we are never satisfied with what we have been given in our lifetime.
You are not the size of clothes you wear, a number on a scale, the name you are born with, the brands you wear, or the number of followers you have on Instagram. You are all the words you speak, all the thoughts you think, your beliefs, all the books you cherish, all the smiles you’ve shared, all the places you’ve been, all the people that you love, and the future you dream of.
You were created with so much thought and the result is beautiful and you may seem to have forgotten or you just don’t know.
You decided that you were defined by all of these other wrong things, but I hope I just reminded and showed you why you’re not.
If you’re reading this, own your beauty and werkkkk it. Don’t let anyone tell you your painting isn’t beautiful. There’s more to life than just that.
(yes, I painted that!) … I know it’s beautiful. :P
