I have an ongoing conflict with myself. It’s a tug-of-war between believing that I’m beautiful and believing that I’m still the awkward 13-year-old whose face was swarmed with acne. This book is guiding me to come to terms with my past and accept the genuine essence of being beautiful.
Yes, I’m beautiful.
I had 12 days of reading this devotional. It brought me back to my insecure teenage years when most people, even family members, told me that I’m lucky I’m smart because it’s my only advantage since I’m ugly.
I was bullied inside and outside of the home for not being physically beautiful. I was repeatedly told that I was ugly or not pretty enough that eventually, I believed what they told me. I compensated by excelling academically. However, I I had very low self-esteem. Reading this book made me wonder if things would have been different had more people been more encouraging towards me, had they been positive in the way I viewed myself, had they been non-discriminating in their definition of beauty.
This book is a must have for all teenage girls. The adolescent stage can be a difficult period marred with issues on insecurity and belongingness. This book helps guide young girls to view their issues in a positive light with faith-based discussions and writing prompts for moments of reflection.
I have had several devotionals in the past but I love how this simple book meant for teens has helped me come to terms with several longstanding issues from my teenage years, which I thought have been resolved.
I chose to go throughout this devotional in the next 78 days (and will probably repeat the cycle ) as a way of making up for the lost times. While I am certainly not the 13-year-old girl that I was 16 years ago, the scars of shame and humiliation are still here and there are times when they ache when I encounter situations which affect me physically and emotionally. This book — in the last 12 days and counting — is giving me the chance to go back to what has been and find ways to forgive those who’ve hurt me and most especially, forgive myself, for refusing to believe that I have always been beautiful in the eyes of Heavenly Father.
I love how this book presents a certain issue every day and freely discusses this issues by giving examples of girls who are facing these issues. Girls, allot even 30 minutes of your day to reflect on these situations and savor the words and pieces of advice being shared. We are blessed that this book is available today. I wish I had it when I was a teenager.
It is my hope that any young lady or girl who will get hold of a copy of this devotional will realize that she is beautiful and that while there may be a need to dress up and put on make up, she will always remain beautiful in the eyes of Heavenly Father, even without lipstick and eyeliner.
I vow to save this book for my daughter Antoinette. She will always be beautiful to me not just because of her physical looks but because she is a gift sent by Heavenly Father especially for me and her Dad.
***
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book from the Booklook Bloggers program for review consideration. I was not required to write positive reviews. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”.
