I had a toothache and a swollen cheek this weekend. The
pain wasn’t the problem, but the pressure to walk around in public was. I looked
like half chipmunk and half human. I knew the swelling would eventually go down,
but it wasn’t going fast enough for me. When it was time for me to meet the
public, I realized how much emphasis I place on my looks. I spent too much time
in the mirror trying to find ways to make my cheeks equal. I tried to suck the
swollen one in from the inside, I tried to puff the other cheek out more, and I
even tried to smile a little harder to see if I could hide my chipmunk cheek.
People walk around every day with physical disabilities and disfigures and there
I was concerned about a temporary swollen cheek.
Being Christ-minded wasn’t even
in my thoughts – it was all about the cheek. After my spiritual spanking, I
asked God to help me to stop focusing on myself. When I look in the mirror, my
Self is not what I see, but the illusion I’ve created for myself is what stares
back at me. My spirit is where my true beauty exists, but I have been
conditioned by society to believe my physical beauty is most important. When we
look at others, we create an illusion for them also.
Eyeliner, foundation, face
powder, mascara, lipstick, false eyelashes, weaves – it’s all used to create an
illusion or possibly hide what we aren’t satisfied with. The swollen cheek is
gone this morning, but the lesson I received will be revisited every time I look
in the mirror. I was perfectly created to be perfectly ME. Everything about me
makes me ME, and God loves me regardless of what I look like – unlike man. God
made me a beautiful woman because His beautiful Spirit lives in me. It’s not
about how I look, but how I make my Heavenly Father
look.
