She is so beautiful!
Look at those big brown eyes!
What a sweetheart!
She’s so happy all the time!
What a gorgeous smile!
She looks just like YOU!
When it comes to my daughter, I agree with every single one of those statements. But to think them about myself? Gorgeous eyes? Oh, these old things? I can’t even see without contacts. Beautiful smile? Thank God for braces! So beautiful? You must be looking at someone else. I would never criticize Madison’s looks they way I pick mine apart in the mirror, and yet she really is the spitting image of me, just little. My insecurities with how I look (and many others, enough to have a whole series on this blog) have always been a major source of emotional turmoil in my life. Never skinny enough, never pretty enough, never had “her” hair or long legs or … or … or ….
I’ve tried Bible studies, working out, buying new clothes/make up/teeth whitener/diets. The voice in my head that said “not good enough” was still there. After exhausting everything in my own power to rid myself of that particular insecurity, God has started a transformation in my heart using the one person He knew I would believe. In His infinite wisdom, He created for us & blessed us with a daughter who just happens to be a little version of me. While I was trying to fix it all on my own, I was stuck in a rut, still seeing myself through my own flawed, critical eyes and leaving room for the enemy to breed doubt and envy as I compared myself to others around me. Now I’m forced to see the attributes my daughter has inherited from me through eyes of love – and not infrequently, as those features are pointed out to me by friends, family, coworkers & strangers nearly every day. While it was incredibly awkward at first, I’m learning to graciously accept the compliments rather than brushing them aside with a self deprecating joke. My heart heals a little more each time in a way I never expected. Blessings upon blessings.
She’s beautiful – she looks just like her mommy!
Thank you. She is beautiful, isn’t she?
Oh, so beautiful! And such good truth.
And I am remembering when my (now grown and a mama herself) daughter was an infant, pushing the stroller, and hearing, “Oh my goodness! What a beautiful baby! She must look like her father!”
Thank you Lisa-Jo! Sweet words on a Monday morning 🙂
Oh Crystal, this line brought tears to my eyes: “God has started a transformation in my heart using the one person He knew I would believe.”
Yes, me too! I know exactly what you mean. How we lavish compliments on our daughters and shy away from them for ourselves.
This *is* beautiful.
Thank you for sharing!
~Lisa-Jo
Yes, you are both beautiful! Thanks for sharing this, and I pray He continues to show you your infinite beauty and worth!
Love this. <3
Truly the definition of a “mini-me” if ever there was one! So glad that God is using her to create in you a new self-image 🙂