She Looked Better Than Me in Her Bikini

"Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man." Genesis 2:22

I walked along the edges of the beach just enough for the water to tickle my toes when I spotted her. I was watching my own children splash in the waves, but I couldn't help but notice her. My eyes darted back and forth from them to her as she elegantly walked into the water, not seeming to have a care in the world,  blonde curls blowing in the wind. 

If I had to guess her age, I would say she was in her early twenties due to the tightness of her skin in her skimpy swimsuit. She wasn't a busty girl, but she wore a bathing suit with strings for sides. I sported a more modest, Mom friendly suit. 

She was thin and lean. She looked adult but youthful. She didn't look like she had bore children, and if she had, she is the kind of woman mothers love to hate. 

Did you see how that played out? I was dabbling in the game of comparison out of habit. 

Embarrassingly, I found myself looking for her flaws, because that's the language of insecurity. That's what it looks like when it rears its ugly face. Women start to say, "Well, I think my hips are a little smaller than hers," "She really has a big nose," "I think her hair is a little frizzier than mine," "She'll never make it as a singer," "Her writing is not THAT good," "I don't see what the big deal is about HER," or "She's not a real leader."  The list goes on and on and on and on....

It's ridiculous when I recant it aloud. 

I closed my eyes a moment saying, "God, these feelings are not of you. I refuse to fall slave to jealousy. It's not what you have for me. Your word says jealousy rots the bone. What do you want me to see?" 

When I opened my eyes, she was lying in the sand on the beach--almost childlike. It was in that moment that I saw a little girl enjoying the sun and and the water as much as me. I didn't see her as competition--Lord knows she would have won in the swimsuit competition. ha

God gently spoke to my spirit, "Woman is one of my most beautiful creations. Look at your delicate yet strong body..delicate as a flower but strong enough to grow and birth a child. Look at the detail I put in to making woman. I didn't leave anything out. Women should appreciate one another's beauty instead of envying it.  You are all beautiful to me." 

Gulp. 

"Yes, Father." 

Proverbs 31:30 tells us, "Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman who feareth the Lord, she shall be praised!" 

I repented for letting my emotions get the best of me, "Sorry, Lord. And sorry lady I don't know for judging you," and I told myself sorry for comparing myself to her.

Who knows her story? She could have been looking at me playing with my boys and suffering from infertility. She could struggle with bulimia or other body image problems. She might hate her curly hair. Her world could have been crumbling. 

Or maybe she thought she was God's gift...she wouldn't be wrong.  

So far, I have yet to find a woman 100% happy with her entire body, but guess what? God is happy with his creation. We are beautiful in his sight, and it's about time we found one another beautiful, too. Don't you think? (Virtual hugs for every woman tonight). 

Father, thank you for creating women. Thank you that we are beautiful in your sight. Thank you for judging our hearts and not our appearances. Thank you for our curves and all our imperfections. They give us character, but we are more interested in mirroring your character to others. May we see other women the way you see them. May we unite and lift one another up instead of tear one another down. In your precious name we pray. Amen.