This is for all that teenage girls out there. I wanna talk to you, ladies. So get your chocolate, cup of coffee, and pull up a chair. You don't have to dress up to read this or put on your makeup. A jogging suit, ponytail, and no makeup will do. Now, are you comftorable? Okay, ladies and no gentlemen-lets talk.
A few days ago, I was in the car on my way to school, watching my sister put her makeup on. Now, I'm the oldest in my family, so to see my little sister putting on makeup is strange for me to see. So I watched her, thinking "Why does she do this now?" Then I listened to a young girl talk to me about boys. Oh girls, remember those days? The juniour high crushes days? Then the same day, I hear another young girl in 7th grade say "I am so fat!" or "I am so ugly!" And I thought "How sad! These young girls are so worried about their bodies, and they are only in 6th and 7th grade!" But I realized it's not only juniour high girls that are insecure about themselves. I hear my own mom say "Man! I need to lose weight!" And if you saw my mother, you would say to her "WHAT are you thinking?!" But women and young girls feel this way about themselves because we see these super skinny, long-legged, pimple free, perfectly airbrushed women on the magazines and TV. The world has really affected the way people look at women now. Sure-we live in America-"Land of the free, home of the brave"-and yeah-women have rights. But in a way, we don't. We're not really free when we have teenage girls who are bulimic or anorexic or cutting themselves or insecure. We as women have our legal rights, but we don't have the right to be who we are. We are told we should look like this or dress like that or be like so-and-so, when it's really not who we are. You understand? I understand it's not all the media's fault, but it DOES play a large roll in this.
Another thing I want to talk to you lovely girls about is not just our self esteem, but where we are searching for love and value in. There's lots of different ways to find and search for it, but I find many women search for it in men. I think it's because so many girls don't have the fathering figure they need in their lives. For example, I have two friends who are very common. They are both girls of about the age of 15 or 16. They're both a bit rebellious towards authority. And they both change boyfriends as often as they change their underwear. One week it's this boy, the next day its another, and it goes on and on. But I noticed one more common thing-both of their dads aren't around for them. Now I'm not saying if your dad isn't around for you, you'll end up like that, but I've seen alot of girls who go from guy to guy, and most of them don't have a good relationship with their fathers. But if you're like that, let me tell you-you don't have to find your "father-filler" in a boyfriend. Cause no matter how good the guy is, he can't fill up that hole. He could be perfect and tell you a million times a day for the rest of your life that you are beautiful and he loves you, but you'd still feel like you're missing something. Guys can't be "father-fillers"-only fathers can.
So ladies, we've talked about the problems. But let me tell you a secret-You don't have to look for acceptance in the world, approval from the media, or love in guys. You can find all of the above in God. Seriously! You think I'm crazy! Look at this:
"How BEAUTIFUL you ar emy darling! Your eyes are like those of doves!" (Song of Solomon 1:15)
"He makes everything BEAUTIFUL..." (Eccleseasties 3:11)
"All BEAUTIFUL you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you." (Song of Solomon 4:7)
"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is vain, but a woman who FEARS the LORD is to be PRAISED!" (Proverbs 31:30)
"Many women do noble things, but you SURPASS them all." (Proverbs 31:29)
"[You are] FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY made..." (Psalms 139:14)
"Your voice is sweet, an dyour face is LOVELY." (Song of Solomon 2:14)
These are only a few of SO MANY verses in the Bible where God tells you you are beautiful to him. God is the perfect father. God is the perfect friend. God is the wonderful lover. God can fullfill any desire or need you have. If you have doubts about who you are or who you should be, pick up that 66-book-love-letter God wrote you called the Bible, and flip through it. Look in your concordance verses that say "beautiful" or "lovely", and see what God says about you. Read Song of Solomon. Though it talks about love between a man and a woman, it is also a beautiful story of God's love for you.
So ladies, that's the end of our talk. I hope your coffee cup is empty and your mind full of good thoughts. You are beautiful, inside and out.
-Love,
A Christian Teenage Girl
