Today I look around me and I see millions of girls striving to be pretty. That simple word is the goal that everyone seems to be striving for. However, the older I get and the more experience I have I just feel as though I cannot afford to just be pretty. When I say this I mean that I am living in a world where pretty just isn't not enough for me and it should not be enough for you either. I cannot afford to offer one simple and shallow characteristic. I see a world that is hurting, confused and lost. I see people who are lonely, hurt, and misunderstood. I see circumstances that are abandoned and rejected. I cannot fix the things that break my heart with an image. No, I cannot just merely offer pretty I must offer the following characteristics.

I must have the Loyalty of Ruth.

“Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” Ruth 1:16-17

I must be a woman who keeps my word and always follow through on her promises. I must be someone that others can confide in and trust. I must be a woman who can always be expected to be there for those she loves and cares about. I want to be the person who never turns her back on people. I want to be the same person no matter who I am with or where I am. I want to be loyal to everyone in my life.

I must have the courage of Esther.

"Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created." Esther 4:14

I must be bold and confident in everything that God calls me to do. I must be willing to step out of my comfort zone and to walk whatever path God has laid out for me. I want to be the woman who has enough trust in God to be able to face any unknown situations. I want to be the woman who fears God. I want my beauty and creativity to be exuded in my courageous choice to surrender to God's will and purposes.

I must have the patience of Elizabeth.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:4-5

I want to be patient. I want to be the woman who's faith is made stronger through waiting. I want to have the spirit of perseverance. I want to be the woman who never gives up God's plans and purposes. I want to be the woman who can admit that God's timing is always better than my own.

I must be a servant like Mary.

"As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them." Luke 7:38

I must put others before myself. I never want to think that I am too good for a job or a chore. I want t serve the least of these. I want to lose myself in the servitude of others. I want to transform lives and lead others to Christ through my helpfulness and selflessness. I want to constantly be looking for opportunities to help out and to do my part.

I must have faith like Sarah and Hannah.

"And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. Hebrews" 11:11

“There is no one holy like the Lord;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God." 1 Samuel 2

No matter what I am going through I want to be able to fully trust in my creator. I need to be able to surrender all of my worries and replace them with my faith. I want to be able to trust in God's promises and his word. I want to be able to refute any questions or doubts that may try to arise in my life. I want to be able to fully rely on Christ and all of his works.

I must have the wisdom of Deborah.

"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it." 2 Timothy 3:14

I must have the wisdom to know what God is requiring of me. I must have wisdom in order to help others and to make important decisions in my life. I must have knowledge in order to speak life into the life of others and to be able to live a life formed of good choices and proper guidance. I must have the ability to reflect on my choices and to grow from recognizing my own mistakes.

I cannot afford to just be pretty. I must provide more than something as shallow as a characteristic that is fleeting and shallow. I must offer characteristics that can help me to grow in Christ and lead other to salvation. Now, I want to say that acquire just one of these things can be very challenging. You might have to go through some trials to gain some of these characteristics just like these women did. However, you will never regret trying to make yourself more like the women in the bible.

Don't get me wrong I think each woman should embrace her inner and outer beauty however it should never come before the more important qualities that I have listed. In fact I believe that these traits can make your physical beauty more radiant! Overall what I am trying to say is that we are to be a generation that is chasing more than what we see in the mirror, but rather what we see in the ways we impact the lives of others and our relationship with God.

Pretty will never be enough for you. Pretty cannot sastify your needs or the needs of the world today. You must encourage yourself to become more. Start asking more out of yourself and I promise you will be fufilled, you will see great change, and you will find more joy in your relationship with God.