I’ve been diving right into this 31 Day Writing Challenge, where each blogger chooses a topic to write about for 31(ish) days. Because it’s right where God has me, I’ve chosen to share on Blending Beauty with Balance.(#thebeautybalance, if you want to follow along…or better yet, join the conversation using the hashtag!)

It’ll be a fun and encouraging 31(ish) days where I’ll be sharing tips and tricks while digging deeper, finding purpose, and blending beauty with balance — all with a heart of intention. {all 31(ish) Days will be linked here}

I tend to ponder so often about the message I'm putting out there on my blog and YouTube channel with all this beauty, makeup and fashion talk. And I confess that I have truly been in the trenches over this deep longing to know just how to live and share a life of beauty with balance.

And while it’s true that beauty, style, and fashion can make life a little more fun (I mean, can we just talk about the giddy joy in finding a fabulous shade of lipstick?) ...what brings an even greater joy to my soul, is living that beauty, and knowing that the beauty we delight in is truly a reflection of our Creator.

But, I didn't always see it this way, and I haven't always had this sort of outlook when it comes to beauty.

I still remember the day I found out I was having a daughter, that day when I heard those four little words that brought tears to my eyes and a panicking fear to my heart, "You're having a girl."

And as we walked back to the car from our appointment, I grasped my husbands hand and whispered to him my greatest fear... "How will I keep her from becoming like me?"

For so many years up until that day, I had been struggling -- drowning might actually be more like it -- in placing my value and worth on what I looked like on the outside. And every time I looked into the mirror, I saw someone not good enough. Not beautiful enough. Not thin enough. And ultimately, not worthy enough.

These lies I believed to be truths caused me to turn down social invitations and withdraw from friendships where I just didn't feel enough, or felt too embarrassed of the package I had to present. Instead it seemed better to be home where the only judgement I had to endure, was my own.

But on that day in that doctors appointment, when God knew what I needed better than I did, I realized that I had no choice but to finally choose the path to healing. And I had to get uncomfortable, even more than I already was, in order to really yank out the roots from the weeds of lies I'd allowed to take over my mind.

And on the day when Chloe was born, while I still had so far to go, I found myself finally in place where beauty no longer defined who I was or what I was worth.

It's a journey, and I am imperfect, and I still have many moments of struggle. But, the only difference is, I refuse to stay in that place.

And it's those precious moments when I watch my sweet little girl sitting at my vanity, playing with my makeup, that I realize more than ever, that as women, mamas, and mentors, we have such a great responsibility to teach these little ones the truth about beauty.

And when I hear her ask me if I think she's beautiful, I want nothing more than for her to know that her beauty is so much more than what she will ever see in the mirror. That true beauty is being adorned from the inside out, making every effort to blend beauty with grace, ultimately reflecting Him in all that we are and in everything we do.

And it's when we ourselves believe and live that truth with devoted intention, that those little eyes and hearts watching us, will long for and understand the beauty God intended for us all to be and to live in all that we are and in everything we do.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

We are His poem and His masterpiece. I pray with all my heart that we live this, and more importantly, that we pass it on.

xo,

Summer www.summersaldana.com