We’ve all been there. We’ve walked into the bathroom and peered into the glass hanging on the wall, looked at the mirror in our room, looked at pictures of ourselves. We walk by windows or glass doors and instead of just walking straight by, we turn our heads and try to see our reflection. We try to make sure we still look acceptable.

We stand in front of the mirror and critique ourselves in every way possible.

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I Can't Look At Myself In The Mirror

Stop Picking Yourself Apart

If only that pimple on our face would just go away.

If only our hair was just a little straighter.

Or just a little curlier.

If only that one piece of hair would just stay in place.

If only our teeth were just a little whiter.

If only I could lose five pounds.

If only my outfit was cuter.

And then we walk away from the mirror, defeated. The mirror tells us that we aren’t good enough. That we aren’t pretty enough. That we could do so much better.

We are constantly asking the mirror to give us the affirmation we need. We are asking it the million dollar question of “Do I look okay today?”…and hoping that it says yes.

But all of these negative things the mirror tells us are lies. Instead of looking into the mirror and seeing those flaws, look in the mirror and see all of the beauty. And if you are looking at yourself and can’t see beauty, start first with looking at function.

Instead of saying, “Ugh, my legs are so huge!” Start saying, “Wow, my legs can let me run. My legs take me to class every day. My legs allow me to go hiking with my friends.” Whatever the case may be, be thankful for the functions that your legs have. You can also do this with other parts of your body as well. For example, you may not like your smile, but think of all the times you have used your smile to brighten up someone else’s day.

And then maybe, just maybe, you might start to see the beauty in every part of your body.

This idea of looking at ourselves and pointing out all our flaws has become the normal thing to do. If you’ve ever seen the movie "Mean Girls," it’s like the scene where all the girls are in Regina’s room, pointing out their flaws in the mirror. One girl says “I have man shoulders,” another says “My hips are huge,” and then one says, “My hairline is so weird,” and then they throw in a few more self-insults. Then, Cady, a girl who moved to the United States from Africa, feels like she has to go along with it, but she doesn’t really know what to say. She hasn’t really thought of herself in such a negative light like that before. It hasn't ever mattered to her before. She eventually responds with “I have really bad breath in the morning,” which ends up being kind of humorous. But I think we can take a few things away from this scene.

First of all, we can decide that when we are with a group and everyone starts worrying about their appearance like Regina and her friends were doing, we aren’t going to join. We all know that having multiple people join in on a conversation like that just fuels the fire. Start a revolution…say something positive about yourself instead, and compliment your friends while you're at it.

Second of all, we can learn a lot from Cady. She ends up saying something that doesn’t even have to do with something the mirror can tell her. She isn’t dependent on the mirror for her self-worth.

Third, we can decide that we aren’t going to let the mirror define us. Because it doesn’t.

Our outward beauty doesn’t define us. We are defined by the beauty that is inherent in us, simply because we are made in the image of God. Think about this…God made the Earth and everything in it in seven days. We were made in nine months. If God could put so much beauty in the earth in seven days, think of how much more beauty he has put in us in nine months.

We are His masterpiece. Say you had someone come paint a picture to hang in your room. They spent hours and hours creating this painting, and are so proud of it. But when you see it, you immediately start critiquing it and pointing out all the flaws. You wish they had painted something different. God has painted beautiful pictures in each one of us. We are pieces of art that He is so proud of. Maybe with that being said, we should stop being so mean to ourselves and stop pointing out all of our flaws. Imagine how that makes Him feel.

Lastly, when you see someone else, you don’t start noticing all of their flaws. You don’t see them for their flaws, you see them as a person. You don’t love your friends because they are a size two, you don’t love them because they have perfect hair, you don’t love them because they wear the best outfits. You love them because they make you smile. You love them because they make you laugh. You love them because they know how to cheer you up when you’re having a bad day. Everyone else sees you the same way. No one is noticing that stubborn zit on your forehead. No one is noticing that your jeans might fit a little tighter than usual. No one is noticing all of the “mess-ups” you see. Because they aren’t mess-ups. And most importantly, even more important than what our friends see, is how God sees us. God doesn't love us based on the size on the tag of our jeans either. He doesn't love us based on how good our hair looks today. He doesn't love us based off of any of that. God simply looks at us and says, “Wow. She is beautiful and I love her.” Rest in that today and know that the creator of sunsets, of stars, of daisies, of beautiful beaches, of waterfalls, of butterflies, of every beautiful thing you can think of, thinks YOU are the most beautiful thing in all the earth.