It’s time for a real moment, ladies. Let’s talk insecurity.

I was once plagued by it, and to be honest, sometimes, that plague can easily come back. For years, I let lies of who I was and what I looked like dictate my life. I would let them fester, and filtrate my head. As the years went by, I started to believe them. I would wake up every day and tell myself that I was not good enough and allowed that to be a deadly pattern. Junior High and High School were years plagued by the fear of being less than perfect, of exposing who I was really was -- a faulted, flawed human being in need of the utter redemption of Jesus. I was scared to be who I was, who I was created to be -- a child, dependant on her Father.

I set down my shield some years ago, my fake, insecure self and life I had tried to form and create. I had battled for far too long and wanted to be free.

I was reminded the other day of how much I have been changed by God over the past two years and I couldn’t help but realize how millions of women in the world struggle with self-worth. Many, who have the ultimate security in a God who created them for far much more than to have a pretty face. It’s empowering to realize that my one goal on earth is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, period. By choosing to say no to myself, my insecurities and my doubts, I am saying yes to His glory and the gospel being known. As women, our appearance becomes an idol, and so often we miss out on the unimaginable adventures before us, that God has strategically planned for our lives, because we’re consumed in ourselves and who we want to be, instead of being who God has made us to be.

Over several changes of heart and God working out a miracle, I’m not as quick to believe lies that Satan so often tries to fill my head with. I’ve started to embrace flaws and imperfections in my physical appearance because God didn’t make any flaws in His creation. I’ve started to worry less and rejoice more -- in creation, in the gospel, in the beauty of this life and story that God has written uniquely for me, because at the end of the day, superficial pleasures fade, but God and His glory never will. His gospel will never stop needing to be heard, His glory will always prevail and as His child, I am always in need of being redeemed.

He created every line, every mole, every dimple, perfectly. It took me a while to see it, but now I see it more clearly than ever. Yes, I have pimples and some fat on my body that I wish wasn’t there. Yes, I’m insecure about my laugh and how obnoxiously loud I talk. I’m far from perfect, but that’s the beauty of the gospel -- we're not supposed to be. We’re supposed to embrace how He created us uniquely different from everyone else, with unique gifts and an even more unique purpose.

So here’s my advice to you, something that has taken me over five years to fully realized.

In order to be truly free, you have to stop trying so hard.

You will never experience true freedom until you lay down your mask and the lies in your head. You will never feel total fulfillment until you can look at yourself in the mirror, as you truly are, flawed, but created perfectly for a specific purpose. You are redeemed, and that is the greatest news and most beautiful realization in the world.

So be free. Set your appearance aside and find joy in what truly matters. Don’t compare yourself or your Instagram feed, because honestly, even the most hipster looking girl on Instagram has flaws, I promise you. Stop creating a life for yourself; instead, live with joy and live for the purpose that God has set before you. If you set your eyes on Him and look at yourself through His eyes, your life and perspective can drastically change. There is beauty in a woman who admits her faults, sees her physical appearance through the eyes of Jesus and lives with a deep-rooted joy in who she was made to be. Let’s strive for that, together.