I'm a girl.
And being a girl is hard.
A few common characteristics of girls include tendency to overthink things, obsession with their appearances, and extreme concern for what people think of them.
Under the pressure of our overwhelmingly beauty-obsessed society, many girls entangle themselves with drugs or alcohol, develop eating disorders, or find themselves depressed because they are not pretty/thin/popular enough to satisfy the standards they think they must accept.
Because I'm a good, dedicated blogger, I've actually done a lot of research for this post, looking at statistics and whatnot. (And besides, I have a blog, so that grants me instant credibility.)
I noticed that it seems as though the percentage of girls who are happy with themselves is inversely proportional to the age of the girls surveyed. (English translation: the older the girls were, the fewer said they were happy with themselves.)
If you go on a valiant quest to discover scholarly literature on the top issues teenage girls are told they should face, poor body image/low self esteem are the omnipresent topics.
The overall impression given is that girls always have, always will, and always should be first and foremost concerned with how they look and whether their appearance is "acceptable" to their peers.
But I know a powerful secret.
If this secret were revealed to and accepted by everyone, it would likely result in the downfall of the modern beauty industry, the entertainment arena, and fashion empires worldwide.
This secret puts all of my teenage girl issues in perspective.
Meredith's Panacean Secret: Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. (Prov. 31:10)
In this verse and those following, we find a list of characteristics that should be desirable in a lady.
Only twice did I find anything remotely related to appearance.
However, more than a dozen character traits are listed. A kind spirit and good heart, trustworthiness, diligence, shrewdness, industriousness, generosity, a well-informed mind, compassion - the list goes on.
Society's obsession with beauty is in direct contradiction to the biblical truth: Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. (Prov. 31:30)
Girls who reject society's perverted views and seek the truth are more valuable than rubies.
Here's a little tidbit about rubies from this article:
"Among rubies though, there is no shortage of small gems, the kind used in cluster rings. They are somewhat expensive, but readily available. It is when you get into gems of a carat o[r] more that they get really expensive. Good quality rubies in this size range are few and far between."
It's not difficult to find a woman.
It's not even that difficult to find a woman of character. Like smaller rubies, they are readily available and have significant value.
But virtuous women are few and far between.
I want to be one of the few.
And being a girl is hard.
A few common characteristics of girls include tendency to overthink things, obsession with their appearances, and extreme concern for what people think of them.
Under the pressure of our overwhelmingly beauty-obsessed society, many girls entangle themselves with drugs or alcohol, develop eating disorders, or find themselves depressed because they are not pretty/thin/popular enough to satisfy the standards they think they must accept.
Because I'm a good, dedicated blogger, I've actually done a lot of research for this post, looking at statistics and whatnot. (And besides, I have a blog, so that grants me instant credibility.)
I noticed that it seems as though the percentage of girls who are happy with themselves is inversely proportional to the age of the girls surveyed. (English translation: the older the girls were, the fewer said they were happy with themselves.)
If you go on a valiant quest to discover scholarly literature on the top issues teenage girls are told they should face, poor body image/low self esteem are the omnipresent topics.
The overall impression given is that girls always have, always will, and always should be first and foremost concerned with how they look and whether their appearance is "acceptable" to their peers.
But I know a powerful secret.
If this secret were revealed to and accepted by everyone, it would likely result in the downfall of the modern beauty industry, the entertainment arena, and fashion empires worldwide.
This secret puts all of my teenage girl issues in perspective.
Meredith's Panacean Secret: Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. (Prov. 31:10)
In this verse and those following, we find a list of characteristics that should be desirable in a lady.
Only twice did I find anything remotely related to appearance.
However, more than a dozen character traits are listed. A kind spirit and good heart, trustworthiness, diligence, shrewdness, industriousness, generosity, a well-informed mind, compassion - the list goes on.
Society's obsession with beauty is in direct contradiction to the biblical truth: Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. (Prov. 31:30)
Girls who reject society's perverted views and seek the truth are more valuable than rubies.
Here's a little tidbit about rubies from this article:
"Among rubies though, there is no shortage of small gems, the kind used in cluster rings. They are somewhat expensive, but readily available. It is when you get into gems of a carat o[r] more that they get really expensive. Good quality rubies in this size range are few and far between."
It's not difficult to find a woman.
It's not even that difficult to find a woman of character. Like smaller rubies, they are readily available and have significant value.
But virtuous women are few and far between.
I want to be one of the few.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. (Prov. 31:28)
When I was in college, one year I was the chaplain of my collegian and did a series of devotionals on gems. Your thoughts on rubies are very similar to some that shared way back then. And I pray that you will be one of the few; you are well on your way to being one. Love you!
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