How To Be Pretty | The Best Makeover Ever

I’ve always wanted to be pretty.

My mom is pretty.

My sister is pretty.

And until the morning after third grade Open House, I thought maybe I was pretty, too.

I arrived at my classroom still floating on air. Open House the night before  had been glorious. Our classroom felt like a party. My classmates and I had bragged and strutted as our parents viewed the pieces of art we’d worked so hard to make perfect.

I walked in the door and found my teacher perched on a ladder in the center of the room. She was removing a stream of crepe paper that dangled from the ceiling.

Other students had  already arrived. Some were seated, while others stood in the back of the room, admiring the handwriting samples our teacher had attached to a huge bulletin board.

“Cynthia,” my teacher said as she climbed down from the ladder, “I was so glad to meet your parents last night.”

Then, before I could reply, she added the words I’d grown accustomed to hearing:

“Your mother is so pretty!”

Her compliment made my classmates turn with interest. I could almost feel my chest pump with pride.

And then the bomb dropped.

“And you know, dear,” my teacher went on:

“You look just like your father!”

 

Bam.

My dad was good-looking.

But he wasn’t pretty.

And I wanted so badly to be pretty, just like my mom.

 

 

It’s amazing how a carelessly worded comment can follow you for the rest of your life.

 

As my teacher’s words followed me into upper elementary, on into junior high and high school and even into college, I was convinced everyone in the room was prettier than me.

I fought insecurities and compared myself to every. single. girl.

And there was no way to convince me I was anything except ugly.

 

But then I met Jesus.

 

And suddenly I wanted to look like Him.

 

Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children.

Ephesians 5:1

 

 

When God gave me a divine makeover in Christ, He gave me a new heart.

 

 

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

2 Corinthians 5:17

 

 

God isn’t impressed with my outward appearance. Even the best shade of lipstick and the most carefully placed highlights and lowlights won’t make Him think I’m any prettier.

Because God looks at the heart.

 

 

Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on jewelry, or beautiful clothes, or hair arrangement. Be beautiful inside, in your hearts, with the lasting charm of a gentle and quiet spirit that is so precious to God.

1 Peter 3:3-4  (New Living Translation)

 

 

Over the years, I’ve let go of my dream to look like my mom.

Instead, I want to favor the One who gave me a new life, a new heart, and new purpose.

To be honest, the words that had brought me embarrassment and discouragement as a third grader are the same ones I long to hear again one day.

More than anything in the world, I’d love to hear someone say:

“…and you know, dear, you look just like your Father!”

 

‘…because I was the one who made you so lovely.’

Ezekiel 16:14  The Living Bible (paraphrase)