What makes you beautiful?

We all seek some type of vain effort to be beautiful and get attention, don't we??

America's Next Top Model Leah Darrow is like many of us in society. It all came down to her needing to be loved. Is that not what we really all seek? Does having the best hair, fit body, stylish clothes make us happy? Do material possessions satisfy our souls? Is there more to life?

I am not saying it isn't nice to have all those things. I think it is fine to be clean, healthy, well kept and pleasing to the eye. You need to ask if vanity if slipping into the picture or if you are using the virtue of temperance (moderation and self control) But, we are so much more than looking good exteriorly (physically). What is the inside looking like? Is it well maintained emotionally, mentally and spiritually?

 I have made so many mistakes in my life. Still do. But, I hope to have a better story to tell, than the one I have led in the past. I do feel I came from a place that was ugly, dark and unsatisfying. My insides were not very healthy to look at. It comes down to, I did not have Jesus in my life.Yes, you heard right. By inviting him into my life (remember, He waits like a gentlemen and is not a party crasher), He was able to work in my life from the inside out. Anyone that knows me, and is honest about the life I was leading, knows something changed in me. While I do not have a halo nor wings, I say this humbly, that I have made great strides in many aspects of my life. But I can't take credit, as it is only by the grace of God that this occured. Once I asked Him with my words and with my heart to help me, show me and guide me in my life's decisions, did things change. I honestly approach life and I hope, people differently. I know I am a work in progress and always will be, but, as God is the potter, I am the clay. My Catholic/Christian faith has taught me this.

When people ask me "Are you Saved", my answer is- by the grace of God I am working out my salvation everyday through continual personal conversion. I do think something quite profound happens on surrendering. However, I know it is a choice each and everyday that you have to decide to make. By asking God to strengthen you in His love, it is not a hardship but an easy pleasure. When life is happy, peaceful and has a greater purpose it is a blessing to be alive- you feel alive! God is the bearer of life, out of love. Sin on the other hand is not done out of love and is the bearer of death. God is love...it all makes sense when you feel it mentally and viscerally. When you find God, you find love. Then it is easier to love everyone.

I wish I knew this the first 36 years of my life. Those 36 years were not wasted, however, as I have fond memories and experiences.These have made me who I am today and I still continue to grow. But, with trust and surrender, I strive to do as Jesus would do (maybe not merely as well, but, always trying my best with His help). I walk most times (I am a sinner in rehab remember) with little guilt, shame, pride and all those yucky sins that mess with our lives. Before, I was loaded up with that heap of useless baggage.

Kudos to Leah using her celebrity to bring awareness to the youth and us other folk-lol. I think, if we have more people like her in society, stepping up and telling people what they don't hear enough of, in the media, that this world can be a better place. A place of love, caring, joy and sacrifice. Lady Gaga (I must say I like her music-it's catchy) and all the other popular role models out there influencing our youth, are often times sending messages of lust, sex, pride and materialism. What does that produce in society, in our children and in us?

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. May the eye of many behold something of virtue- love.