This Girl

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By Erin McNew | Staff Writer

Today, this video made me cry.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/dayshavedewi/this-video-is-for-every-woman-who-has-never-felt-like-that-g#.vt67WrKP8X

Because I know what it’s like to look at that girl and compare yourself to her. As if you can be compared to any other person on this planet. As if you are not uniquely made. As if your thighs being larger than that girl’s make your chances of being loved smaller. As if your hips being wider than that girl’s make your chances of looking beautiful when you going out slimmer. As if your hair being shorter than that girl’smake your journey toward acceptance longer. As if your stomach not being lean makes your chances of being noticed as much as that girl’s pretty fat.

Some days I still wish I could somehow be that girl. I could eat less with that girl in mind. I could work out twice a day and look at that girl as my goal. I could grow out my hair and be feminine like that girl. Some days I look at magazines or listen to music or talk to family and friends and it feels as if everyone is hinting at that girl. And, some days I get so caught up in that girl that I lose sight of this girl. The girl that I am. The girl that God created me to be. The girl that is beautiful. The girl that is enough.

I lose sight of the girl I am. I lose sight of my own likeness to God. I lose sight of my own beauty. I lose sight of my own potential. I love sight of my own reality. Because I become caught up in the lie that by looking like someone else I become better. More loved. More accepted. More attractive.

Some days the pressures I entertain within my own mind and heart are so heavy that when I look in the mirror I don’t see any of the things I have the potential to be. I don’t see that girl, but, more heartbreakingly, I don’t see this girl. I see a project. I see something to be altered. Tightened. Reduced. Expanded. I see nothing but things to be improved upon. When, in truth, this girl is perfect. Because this girl is healthy. This girl is loved. This girl is smart. This girl is successful. This girl is driven. And this girl has the will power and the faith to keep that girl from distracting her from how beautiful she is.

People exercise and diet to transform themselves. But sometimes, we need a transformation much deeper than one that can be measured by a scale. Sometimes, we need a transformation that can only be achieved through prayer and self-love. And sometimes, being able to look into a mirror and see yourself as God sees you is all the measurement you need.

Do not let your adorning be external, the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear. But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. | 1 Peter 3:3-4

P.S. You are enough.

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