Best Compliment Ever

Okay, so this was something I was thinking about this morning that I felt like I should share. Hopefully this is taken the right way. Please don't find this offensive.

I don't wear make-up.

At least, I very rarely wear make-up.

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When I was a kid, I found out that when I did wear it, I usually got a ton of compliments, but if I did it very often, the compliments stopped coming. So, being the attention-seeker I was at the time, I would only get dolled-up if there was a really good reason. Then people would really make a big deal out of it, hoping that I would get the hint and wear it more often. I enjoyed the compliments, but it didn't change the fact that I enjoyed getting ready for school in under ten minutes.

My sisters begged my parents to buy them make-up. I couldn't care less. Finally, my parents bought me make-up and said, "You should use this sometimes."

I learned how, but usually I couldn't be bothered.

Luckily for me, I seem to have some pretty good color in my cheeks and people don't seem appalled by the look of my face without make-up.

In fact, when I was dating Grig, we were discussing make-up at one point, and he suddenly turned to me and said, "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you without make-up on."

I laughed and said, "I'm not wearing make-up right now."

He was a bit embarrassed, but I told him it was the best compliment ever. It meant that I didn't really need to wear it to look okay.

I think I look pretty good anyway, and so does Grig. That's all that really matters to me. Kevin doesn't care one way or another.

Sometimes I think our society is too dependent on make-up. I think the best kind of make-up application is when you can't tell that people are wearing make-up. I've seen it done masterfully by sisters and friends where they use make-up to accentuate their beauty instead of creating a mask that looks nothing like them. It is pretty scary when someone takes their make-up off and you don't even recognize them.

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I don't think I personally know anyone that I would call ugly. Everyone is beautiful for different reasons. Even if the exterior doesn't exactly shine, the light from inside seems to permeate the shell and the beauty from within can transform plainness into magnificence.

Sure it's cheesy, but everyone I know is incredible and beautiful in their own way.

There are some people that society would consider beautiful that I find kind of awful. When people do terrible things, it doesn't matter what they look like on the outside. The ugliness inside seems to eat away at any external looks that they were given until they look pretty horrible.

For me, the more I get to know people, usually the more beautiful they become. The more I grow to love people, the less I see their looks and the more I see the person beneath the looks.

Let's worry less about our external features, and spend more time fixing our internal ones.

That's not to say that we shouldn't adhere to the basics of hygiene. I sometimes went too overboard when I was younger. Showering is good, and so is doing your best to look good. However, I learned from a friend that you take the time to look good for yourself, not for anyone else. If you feel good about the way you look, it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks.

Make-up is okay, but it shouldn't be the basis of our self-esteem. We shouldn't hate the way we look without it.  This life isn't about covering up who we are, it is about discovering who we are and transforming into the wonderful child of God who we were meant to be.

God loves us just the way we are, but He loves us too much to let us stay that way.

This life is all about breaking us apart and discovering our weaknesses, and Christ is all about helping us to learn how He can help us put ourselves back together to be an even more incredible person.

The only make-up we should care about is the deep cleanser and purifier that comes from our Savior.

With that shining up our souls, the flesh on the outside can't keep our beauty contained. People will see your light and they will know you are someone amazing...even without make-up.