Choose Beautiful

I'm sure many of you have seen Dove's Choose Beautiful ad. They put signs over the doors of large department stores in a handful of cities across the world. One said "Average" and the other "Beautiful". It was really remarkable watching the women analyze the signs and decide which door they should enter through. One woman even turned around and walked away because she didn't want to make the decision. I think part of the problem is the people worry they will be seen as arrogant if they do admit they see themselves as beautiful. I have to say though, this ad really hit me as I watched it yesterday. 

Right now I'm pregnant for the 5th time. Pregnancies aren't easy for me (are they for anyone?) and I'm getting to the point of ultimate discomfort and awkwardness - which is a little scary seeing as I have 3 months to go!  I can't tell you how many times a day I bump into the counter with my belly thinking that I'm not as big as I actually am! There were definitely times of previous pregnancies where I did feel beautiful and was proud to sport my oversized bump! I felt good and could really appreciate the miracle I was part of in creating life. But can I tell you… I've yet to feel great with this one, let alone BEAUTIFUL!!  I started out 15 lbs heavier than I was with other pregnancies and I just can't let myself off the hook for not ever losing that weight. I've been sick, my hands and feet are swollen already (I usually don't swell or retain water during pregnancy), and my back and hips don't seem to want to stay in alignment where they're supposed to be so I pretty much crookedly waddle everywhere I go! And I don't work out while I'm pregnant to avoid more preterm labor than I'm already going to have which doesn't help with how I feel.  Deep down, I still know it's a beautiful blessing to be pregnant and I am SO SO GRATEFUL. I don't want to minimize that at all... but I'm not really feelin' it on the outside. 

So, like I said, I had a "moment" if you will, when I watched the ad yesterday. Had I been presented with the option of the two doors before seeing the ad, I wouldn't have given the "beautiful" door a chance in my mind. No way. Not for me. But then I saw the mother and daughter. The daughter was going to walk through the "average" door and the mom pulled her over to the other side and made her go through the one labeled "beautiful". It made me think of my Kate. It would break my heart and makes me cry to think she would ever choose to see herself as anything less than beautiful. Let me tell you - this girl is AMAZING! She is smart and kind and thoughtful and has this burning desire to learn! She makes friends so easily and isn't afraid to show how much she loves her family - which is A LOT!!

She can be so hard on herself and critical of little things that don't really matter. Sometimes I wonder why... But then I think of how she hears me talk about MYSELF and I have to ask: am I helping or hurting the matter? 

And then I think about our Father in Heaven who created me and I'm pretty sure he would want me to choose "beautiful". Even when I waddle. Even though I haven't been able to squeeze my wedding ring on for 2 months. Even when I'm wearing my sweatpants and yesterdays makeup. If how much I love my kids is even an slight indication of how much our heavenly parents love us, then I can only imagine the heartache it causes when we fail to recognize our beauty and worth.  How does the saying go?  "God don't make no junk"?

It's a CHOICE! How we view ourselves is a choice.  And I'm going to choose beautiful from now on. For women and girls everywhere, for Kate, for ME!!!  I'm going to forgive myself when I don't look perfect, when I can't get rid of all my split ends, when I don't weigh exactly what I'd like to weigh.  I'm going to focus on how I feel when I'm serving my little ones, my husband, my neighbors.  I'm going to capture the feeling I have in the moments when my kids give me a giant hug or tell me they love me.  Because in those moments I FEEL BEAUTIFUL.

My friend posted this on facebook yesterday: "those times when we feel most miserable, offended, or angry are invariably the occasions when we're also most absorbed in ourselves...." -from Bonds That Makes Us Free

Hello?  YES!!! If you want to feel bad about yourself then focus only on yourself!  The longer I stare in the mirror, the more imperfections I'm going to find.  But the more I get out and serve and love others and LIVE this beautiful life, in this beautiful world I've been blessed with, the better I feel.  I stop caring as much about the little petty things that would have made me balk at the thought of calling myself beautiful and I'm just happy.  And HAPPY = BEAUTIFUL.  Beautiful is so much more than how we look.  But I have to admit, for this little lady... the baby blue eyes and long blonde hair certainly don't hurt!

You can watch the ad here!!

Have a BEAUTIFUL day!!