Mama, You’re Beautiful by Tally Flint, mom of four

I’ve yet to meet a woman who doesn’t wrestle with body issues. Some of us can point to specific instances in our lives when we doubted our own beauty. Some struggle with believing we’re beautiful on a daily basis. For most of us, I think our relationship to our beauty resembles a roller coaster ride: we’re either up or we’re down, but rarely going steady for an extended period of time.

"I was made by a God
 who loves beauty,
 for a beautiful purpose."

Motherhood adds a few loop-the-loops on that roller coaster ride. Whether we carried our babies inside our bodies or not, we look different after children come along. Gone are the days of leisurely getting ready in the morning, of painting our nails pretty colors, styling our hair “just so.” And let’s be honest: I certainly never had a chest that resembled empty pastry bags until after I had my kids!

Yes, I look different. I am different. But I’m learning to believe I am just as beautiful as I ever was, maybe even more so. Because I have four little ones who gaze up at me as I step out of my closet to say, “Mama, you are so beautiful!” And as I grow in my ability to believe that myself, I teach them what true beauty is all about: knowing I was made by a God who loves beauty, for a beautiful purpose.

Dear God, thank you for making me beautiful! Help me to see myself as you do. And help me to see the beauty you put in those around me too. Amen.