Curly or Straight?

Today I got the honor to host a manicure/pedicure party for junior high girls. When we finished doing each others nails, they started asking me about all my formal and prom dates. Well in the process, they asked to see all my dresses. While I watched the girls try on my dresses, memory after memory popped in my head, some good and some bad. However I think I'll save those stories for another post!

While all the girls were trying on dress after dress they said certain things that got me thinking. "I wish I had your legs." "Why couldn't my chest fill this dress?" "If I was only taller." Comment after comment was I wish, I wish. Granted, that is me at times. I've never been 100% comfortable in my body either. Earlier in the day I had a deep chat with a girl who is very dear to my heart. She asked, "Why do girls with straight hair wish they had curly hair and girls with curly hair wish they had straight hair?" After thinking about it for a couple minutes I told her that I think that is part of being a sinful human. I said, "It's jealousy." We really had a good chat while doing our hair; her hair being straight, mine being curly.

When I looked up the definition of jealous, I simply got, "feeling or showing envy of someone or their achievements and advantages." Clearly we don't look at our bodies as "achievements" or "advantages" all the time but we should. I saw a post about mothers with stretch marks and it said "I'm a tiger who has earned these stripes." I thought that was the coolest way to see stretch marks. Granted most people do not see stretch marks as the perfect parts of your body but we as humans need to realize how worth it those stretch marks are. Because of those stretch marks, you have the best blessings a mother could receive.

We always want what other people have. Simply look at our culture, as of 2012 over 245 million iPhones have been sold. That number blew my mind. However, the minute that Apple releases a new iPhone, we are instantly jealous of everyone who has the "new" one. Even if it doesn't have a fingerprint sensor or an updated look to the applications, it still works fine. We live in a jealous culture. Nothing is ever going to be good enough for us whether it is clothes, cars, houses, entertainment, etc.

Well, how on earth do I end this post without you feeling like crap... Well in Romans 12:21 of the Bible it says, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." The word evil can be a big word but think about that statement if evil is replaced by jealousy.  Jealousy is not something that God wants from us as Christians. We need to overcome our jealousy and the first step to overcoming it is realizing that God made you exactly the way he wanted you.

So no matter if you have curly hair or straight hair, if you are tall or short, if your toes are long or short, God loves you just the way you are. You are perfect in his eyes. Make him proud to call you his sons or daughter. He is the only person who will unconditionally love you forever.