You're a little young for this letter now, but I think about this often and one of my great goals as your mama is to make sure you believe this with every fiber of your being - you are perfect, just the way you were created. I watch you in front of the mirror, admiring your perfect little self and my heart swells with love that my daughter, at age two, is so sure of herself. I pray at night you will always hold this in your heart and mind.
You are perfect. God created you with a purpose and a plan. He gave you the body you have because he knew it would be strong and capable of many great things. Your light strawberry blonde hair with a curl at the bottom of it, your big blue eyes, your mile long legs, the round shape of your face, and every other detail of your body was made by a perfect creator who makes no mistakes.
Sadly, the world will do all it can to try to convince you otherwise. You will hear message after message throughout your life that you need to do something to become beautiful. You will hear that you need to pluck your eyebrows, wear make-up, color your hair, dress a certain way, reveal certain body parts, cover up other body parts, wear high heels, lose weight, grow bigger boobs, change the shape of your hips...in order to be beautiful.
No, no, NO, sweetheart. You are beautiful because you were made with love and purpose. You are beautiful because you just are. You are no mistake and the body you were graced with is no mistake. You don't have to do a damn thing to be beautiful, no matter what the world tells you.
And the ironic thing is, when you do find peace and love for your body just the way it is, the world will try to make you feel shame for being so confident in yourself. Take it from me, there is no shame in loving yourself. Be proud that you don't fight your own body, that you accept and love what God gave you. Be proud that you don't need high fashion, fancy hairstyles, or make-up to feel gorgeous. Don't be boastful, cocky, or showy, but be confident in yourself. It truly is ok to love yourself for who you are. How you display this to the outside world will have a lot to do with how the world sees your inner beauty, the beauty that truly counts. Love yourself and love others. You come from a line of women who do. Just ask your Oma, she knows these truths also.
And please, make sure that any man you date, and especially the man you marry, believes all these things with you. Your daddy has told me for years how much he loves me and finds me beautiful, just the way I am - fresh out of bed in the morning, in complete exhaustion from childbirth, while wiping up your pee off the floor late at night after an already long day, with puffy red eyes and tear streaked cheeks because life is beautifully hard...always. That is beauty and that is love.
You are beautiful. You just are. You are because you are, nothing more, nothing less. Know it in your heart, feel it in your presence, and kindly show it to the world with love and compassion.
Love,
Your Beautiful Mama
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