Flawless

When Kinsey asked me to write on her blog, I got really excited. I mean, what an honor, right?

I love to write, I love my sister, and I love God, so this was like another dream come true!

But then, I got really nervous.

I started thinking about all the women that would read my blog, and I had this terrible image of them judging me and my writing.

I could imagine their sneers of disgust, their facial expressions that would say, “Who does she think she is?”, their scoffing at my stupidity. I could imagine them all gathering around and snickering at the 16 year old girl and her attempt at writing.

I know, crazy, right? But those are the whispers of doubt and insecurity that the devil whispered in my ear.

The whispers of insecurities and doubts are the lies he speaks into every woman’s ear.

He’ll always tell us that we aren’t pretty enough, aren’t smart enough, too big, too small, and this world encourages us to believe him. Our society twists his wicked lies and make them appear as though they were the truth.

So, ladies, today I’m going to write about acceptance, identity, and the unwavering truth about them both.

Now, I’ll be upfront and honest with y’all. This is a topic that is very close to my heart. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a teenage girl or because of what I’ve experienced or because that’s just my personality. All I know is that this topic means a lot to me, and probably means a lot to y’all too.

First things first, know that what the world says about you isn't who you are.

At the beginning of fourth grade, I started having some trouble seeing the board. I went to the eye doctor and it turned out I needed glasses.

I was so excited!

I remember skipping along the sidewalk singing, “I can see clearly now that I have glasses on!” I also remember my dad rolling his eyes at my display, and Slade (the little toot) making a comment about his ears burning due to my singing.

The next day I went to school and showed off my glasses. My girl friends weren’t near as impressed as I was, but that didn’t bother me.

Now, there was a group of fourth grade boys who loved to torment me. I think it’s because I could never think of what to say back. (My comeback game was at a -10 when I was nine years old.) This group of boys cornered me in my reading teacher’s class. They started laughing at my glasses and saying that I was a nerd.

But that wasn’t what bothered me. What bothered me was the little boy with brown tousled hair and round cheeks who called me four-eyes.

It broke my nine year old heart. The way they said it made me think that it was a bad thing. I went home and cried.

The truth is those words hurt, but they weren’t true. Just because those boys said I had four eyes doesn’t mean I do.

Just because the world says you’re fat doesn’t mean you are. Just because the world says you are stupid doesn’t mean you are. Just because the world says you’re a failure doesn’t mean you are.

The truth is that we are treasured beyond what we could ever imagine.

God formed me and you with His own two hands. The maker of the stars held you in His hands. I can just imagine His reaction after you’d been formed.

You were so tiny in His large hands. He held you gently in His palms and pulled you close to His heart because even though you weren’t born yet, His heart was yours.  His eyes were full of love and knowledge as He gazed at your form. The form He designed. Your life was running through His mind. All that He designed you to do, all the mistakes you would make, who and what you would love. He gazed down at you in adoration. I guarantee that He was thinking you were perfect.

Is that not beautiful to imagine?

The hands that hold the world held you. The Creator of the universe breathed life into your lungs.

Personally, I find that amazing.

Psalm 139:13-16 says:

“13 For you created my inmost being;

   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

   your works are wonderful,

   I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you

   when I was made in the secret place,

   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;

   all the days ordained for me were written in your book

   before one of them came to be.” (NIV)

I don’t have to fight for His acceptance, and neither do you.

That burden of trying to fit in with the world and fighting tooth and nail to be accepted can be gone in a second once we realize who we are, and to Whom we belong.

Secondly, your identity is found in Christ, not in what the world says about you.

The truth is that Jesus loved you so much that He would die (and rise again) for you. He died so He could be with you.

Your identity is found in Him.

He made you in His own image, and He paid for your sins with His only son.

In His eyes, you’re flawless. Spiritually AND physically.

That might be a hard pill to swallow, especially if the world has told you differently, but I promise you that it is true.

Jesus loves you.

Jesus accepts you as you are.

Girl, in His eyes, you’re flawless.

Kylee Sutherland is a Texas girl who has a heart for Jesus, writing and people. She loves to laugh and eat rocky road ice cream (not necessarily at the same time). Kylee prays God uses her passion for writing to touch the hearts of those who read it and that they see her transparency as a way to relate and accept God's grace He freely gives each of us.