Mirror, Mirror

So I was on my way home from work today and I was listening to my MP3 player when it switched to a Barlow Girl song called Mirror, Mirror. The song is basically just about how when we look in the mirror we kind of ask it if we're living up to the standards of the world. Do we look like the world wants us to look. As the song goes on it says that the mirror doesn't define us, the world's standards don't define us. We were made in the perfect image of God and that's what matters.

Now I know this song really well, I have all the lyrics memorized, everything, but for some reason, today, it really hit me. I really, really struggle with trying to conform to the world's standards. I recently dyed my hair blonde because I always felt that the blonde girls were the prettiest, the ones who were considered cute and bubbly and I was just a boring brunette. I've also struggled with my weight for years. So basically, every time I look in the mirror I pretty much grimace. Do I fit the standards of this world? Not even close. I don't have the body of a model, I'm not particularly cute or bubbly or anything (in my opinion). But I am the way God made me and God doesn't make mistakes. I guess I just kind of felt today that dying my hair to try to look like the other girls, to try to live up to what the world wants, and constantly obsessing about my weight and how I look doesn't really honor God. Does the mean I'm going to start dressing like a slob or anything?  No, but I'm going to try to spend less time focusing on how I look and spend that extra time reading my Bible or reading a good Christian book, or maybe sometimes just spending time with family and friends. And that's the other thing, my family and friends aren't going to love me or care about me according to amazing or horrible I look. They love me for me and I think that's important. We don't need to impress people. Just be yourself. The people who really matter will see that and they'll love you for that.

So at this point I'm going to dye my hair back to a brunette so that my natural hair can grow out and even though I'm going to keep trying to lose weight, again, I'm not going to obsess about it. Honoring and serving God is more important than making sure I'm a stick and that I look great all the time.