Try to stay with me here....I do have a point...I think.
I grew up watching my Mom put make-up on each morning before she went to work or anywhere for that matter....even if we weren't going anywhere now that I think of it, although that wasn't often. I think the one exception might have been if she was having a scheduled surgery. I would sit there and watch her every little move and detail. She was so precise. Naturally, when I came to about 11 or 12, I wanted to wear make-up too.( don't all preteen girls?) I also had the mind set that I could not dare leave the house without it. In early adult hood, I dabbled in being a beauty consultant, and the motto there...well, your face is your canvas...your advertisement, if you will. It was so in-grained to me. The older I got, the more I came to find that maybe it was just vanity. I'm a clean person, I fix my hair...I'm the same person without make-up on my face. I'd even been told by my husband that he liked me better without it. As more children came along, I probably fell off the makeup wagon whenever I was spending the day at home. With the birth of Lillian...my make-up wearing days fell by the wayside altogether. Mostly, I just don't value the time it takes me to put it on. If it comes down to having a few extra minutes of sleep, um, I'll take sleep. If it means getting out the door on time versus being late, I'm going to be on time. I also don't want my kids to think they need it. I am the mother of five girls. I want them to know they are beautiful and don't need enhancing. Of course, they do like certain elements of makeup, mostly eye makeup. My 11 year old is driving me nuts wanting to wear some. And that's fine. She will get her chance when we feel she is old enough. Where am I going with this, right? I've always struggled with thinking I am an attractive person. My sister may be the only person in this life who tells me I'm beautiful (thanks for that by the way) if I bring it up. I know she means. In the Bible study we just started at church, we are doing a Beth Moore study on the book of Daniel. To relate to us, she talks about the values the Babylon prized and how that equates to us in modern day...ie, the emphasis we place on youth, beauty, knowledge, and wealth.. The beauty one has really been nagging at me. I really feel unsettled internally about it. Maybe I'm just a screwed up mess....yep, that could be it. (I also think of this with my hair being so gray..color or not to color) I decided to try to get up a few minutes earlier each day to slap on my make-up the last few days. My children have noticed, the school kids have told me how pretty I look, AND some of the adults I encounter on a regular basis have seemed to make a really big surprised compliment about how nice I look. I appreciate it, I really do. What does that say to me, though...the me inside my head...(crazy...I know) I am indifferent, I just don't know how to process the thinking. I'm me no matter what's on my face...made up or not. I don't necessarily feel like I need to wear make up every day, it does not change who I am. It certainly changes the reactions I get from people sometimes. I don't necessarily want to dye my hair, but I dislike that people comment on it a lot when they find out I'm only 35...I mean, really, I'm 35 no matter what color my hair is. how do we keep ourselves from being sucked into being Babylonian women???Ugh, I just don't know....
5 comments:
Before salvation, I HAD to have my "face on" before even checking the mailbox! It was a serious vanity issue with me that needed dealt with. After I came to know Christ, and with the influence of women around me, I slowly stopped wearing make-up and eventually threw it all away. During that same time period, I became a "jumper momma"; DOWDY to the core! I shudder when I remember how dreadful I must've looked. Finally, I began to read different things about looking presentable for my husband, so I asked his opinion. The jumpers went(lol). The first time I put makeup on, I applied it as before and Terry DID NOT like it at all! In fact, he suggested I wash my face (ouch!). Later, I tried again (for a date night), only applying enough to highlight my face and bring attention to my countenance. Several times that evening he commented on how pretty I looked and only later did he ask if I had makeup on. I think I found the balance!
With 7 daughters myself, I understand your struggle. My older girls wear a bit of makeup (we have discussions on what is too much, what is the purpose, how it should draw attention to one's countenance; cosmetics shouldn't be the focus, etc.). While I don't want my girls to focus solely on their physical appearance, I do want them to be neat and presentable and to care what they look like (they've each had their seasons of disinterest). I view it this way: we wear dresses. Many harlots wear dresses, as well. Do our dresses make us look like harlots? NOPE! Why not? We dress modestly, and do not wear clothes that draw attention to our bodies (while harlots do the opposite). Perhaps it is the same with cosmetics. What is the goal; to paint your face to resemble a harlot, or to brighten your face and draw attention to your countenance? That's where I'm at with it right now...
You are the same person despite what you do to your face and hair....keep that attitude!
On the other hand, if I don't at least put mascara on when I go out.....well, lets just say, people might take me directly to the hospital, because I look downright ill! I hate to scare anyone, so some make-up is a necessity for me! : )
Nice post
http://www.pearl-photos.co.uk/
I can say I can't look people in the eye if I leave the house without mascara. My eye lashes are brown on one eye and blonde on the other. I will say most days that is all I bother with aside from a little lip gloss. Some days though I feel down and I throw on some eye shadow and POW I feel super. You are absolutely correct that we are the same person with or without the paint so wear what makes you comfortable. We tend to be our own worst critics. You are beautiful just the way you are.
I never wore much makeup and I remember when I was 25 a friend saying "I don't know whether it is better to be like me and look ghastly when I leave it off or be like you and look great when you put it on".
Now I am over 60 and people regularly mistake me for 10 years younger. I suspect it has to do with never putting anything apart from occassional moisturiser on my face, not soap or any of those dreadful'deep-clean' products that just take out all the oil, and keeping out of the burning Oz sun!
Post a Comment