Every morning you look me in the eyes after you wake up and as you brush your teeth, and as I look back at you from the mirror I can’t help but wonder why are you so mean to me? Why do you hate me? I need to be loved. I need affirmation but all you do is tear me down… tear yourself down.

I’m looking back at you from the mirror and so often you feel like I am separate from you. That I am someone else… something you despise and want to hide from. But we are the same person — this body is you, and you are this body.

You compare me, your body, to everyone else. Why? God made every person unique and yet you only want to be like all the others. You measure yourself by how superior or inferior you are to every person that passes you by.

You don’t even care what other people say. Words don’t hurt you because you’ve already heard all the worst ones from yourself. The hurricane of verbal assaults that you hurl at yourself cut much deeper than what others could say. You know you. You know your weaknesses, your flaws, the parts you want to hide with loose clothing.

You don’t ask “mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” because you already know the answer and it’s the girl next door, it’s the guy from the football team. Instead you say something that sounds more like, “mirror, mirror, on the wall, I hate myself and envy them all.”

Every reflective surface is another opportunity to hate yourself. And aren’t you tired of it?

It’s time to stop. Stop looking at yourself in the mirror and hating who you are.

If your definition of beauty and worth is measured solely by what you see in this mirror, that’s your problem and it’s up to you to fix that. Take control. You are not a powerless victim to the lies of a photoshopped world. Reclaim the meaning of beauty and remind yourself all day every day so you can rewrite your own inner dialogue.

Because beauty is in a heart that loves.

Beauty is in a body that serves another.

Beauty is a mind in pursuit of the truth.

It’s not defined by a ratio of muscle to fat; it’s not the size of your pants or the number of people who want to date you.

Beauty is in looking at Christ with the eyes of your soul and reflecting Him out to the world.

Aren’t you worn out from the self-inflicted wounds of criticism? Hating yourself is exhausting; loving yourself is reviving. You deserve better and it can start right now. It won’t be easy, rewiring your brain to see the real you instead of the lesser version of you that you’ve measured against everyone else. But please try. It’s a battle that so many fight, but even more have given up on. Don’t give up. Courage is in continuing to fight your demons when your demons have won more times than you.

Look in the mirror and see yourself — not the despised, less-than-perfect, not-good-enough version… but the version Christ sees. He sees everything and loves you just the same. He sees a beauty beyond words because there’s no one like you.

“You are altogether beautiful my love, and there is no flaw in you” (Song of Songs 4:7).