Why What You Look Like Really Matters a Lot

We are late, as usual, and I rush, rush, rush applying concealer beneath my sleep deprived eyes.

She stands there, a tall, gorgeous five, framed by the white painted wood that leads to her bedroom and asks me a brush-stopping question:

"Why are you putting on makeup, mom? You are already beautiful."

Why, indeed. A brilliant, simple, deep question. Why, when we are short on time and I'm rushing up a sweat to leave do I take an extra minute for my appearance?

I smile into her stormy-skied eyes streaked with sapphire blues. Ebony dipped lashes blink up and down a sweet, bronze-highlighted curl.

"I am putting on makeup for the same reason I put on different clothes, so how I look won't be a distraction."

* * * * *

What is appropriate, righteous, beautiful, modest... can be a church splitting question. It can be a family splitting question. That is to say: it can be a painful body-splitting question.

"So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."

~Romans 12:5

And making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit is so important... but what do we do when in faith and honesty and sincerity we can not agree on this issue of what it means to be holy and blameless in our appearance and how we present ourselves to the world and to fellow believers?

I work as a professional makeup artist and hair stylist, and after I have prepared a bride for her ceremony and she looks in the mirror I often hear something like this: "Wow. Thank you! I look beautiful, I wish you could come to my house every morning..."

My response? I smile and look her straight in face "No. YOU are beautiful, I am just putting a frame on the masterpiece."

Am I suggesting women should have a makeup artist and hairstylist everyday? Absolutely not. Am I suggesting women should wear makeup every day? Absolutely not. I also do not suggest putting on a beautiful gown for everyday life. But for the celebration of two becoming one, our earthly picture of Christ and the church, in our time and place, these things are a perfectly acceptable, fitting frame.

And the frame matters. So much.

WHY?

Because the frame can highlight or subtract from the masterpiece artwork that is the Spirit of Christ in you.

I go without makeup or styling my hair much more often than not. I do not dress up, or even attempt a "put together" look often. I am a stay at home mom most days, and there is no point to spend a few extra minutes on those things for my children who would wrinkle and stain and head-love away all my efforts within the hour.

So what is the point?

To bring glory to God. This is the ultimate goal of my life, and through my appearance is just one other avenue.

And this does not only apply to makeup, hairstyling and clothing. Facial expression is another way-too-often-underestimated way that we communicate the True Beauty within us.

The Deceiver knows how distracting what the eyes see can be. To so many, all they see is the physical world, they are completely unaware that we war against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

So I try to eliminate distraction whenever I can. That means around family or friends who might be distracted by makeup... I wear very little or none at all. By family or friends who would be more distracted by my tiredness or dressing like a bum, I spruce up a little. The goal is to be a frame that displays Christ in me, the Hope of glory. The same frame is not always appropriate in all settings.

I am running a race in this life, trying to run in such a way as the get the prize. Being in strict training requires various attire. Different seasons in life bring necessary changes to this as well.

That means, with my best understanding of God's will and a clear conscience and an active faith, I have become all frames to all people that I might draw some to the Artist.

And this one body of Christ has many members, and the members do not all have the same function. Not all frames were meant to look the same.

God made us each unique, in our particular and very individual clay frames to display different things about His infinitely glorious beauty.

In this time in history, in this location of the world, how can you best eliminate distraction and draw attention to his glorious beauty by being an attractively fitting frame?

And please don't think I'm referring to only the physically young. Antique frames are some of the most beautiful.

And if I want my frame to have great worth in God's sight, I make it my aim to please Him by adorning myself with the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit.

I am a frame in progress, inwardly being renewed day by day. Until He transforms my lowly body to be like His glorious one, I pray to be as wise as a serpent, and as innocent as a dove.

Working on wearing the habit of a frame that glorifies God with my sisters from A Holy Experience...

Art: An Extension of His Character

"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
~Genisis 1:26-27

We are His creation. His artwork. We are images. We are made in His "likeness".

We can not possibly encompass all of His glorious greatness and beauty, but, we are reflections of Him.

We are living parts of God's imagination.

"Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."
~Psalm 139:16

My four month old baby is a precious reminder of His astounding, never-ending imagination! Not to mention the glories that happen every day in nature, never to be repeated exactly the same again.

I love that we can also share in His joy of creating images.

Two ways that I enjoy this artistic extension of His character are (1) He has allowed me to participate in His artwork by blessing me with the joy of bearing and giving birth to my two beautiful daughters. And (2) I have the pleasure of creating images as my career.

In my particular profession, that being makeup artistry and hairstyling, I think it is very important for people(women especially) to remember this fact:

The images I create are merely reflections of the original artwork, that being the person. I will never create as beautifully as God has. They are a "likeness" of the person, not an exact representation.

Some of my recent endeavors:



Art (after hair/makeup and photoshop):


Un-Retouched Photo (before photoshop):




Art :



Un-Retouched Photo :



Art:





Un-Retouched Photo:





Art is wonderful, beautiful, fun. An extension of God's character. But like all good things that originate with God, Satan can try to twist what is good and beautiful into something ugly, a lie, an idol. With hair, makeup, and photography some people forget that the final product they see is not the original person. Since the end result is often all they see, it is easy to forget the image is artwork, a reflection, not reality.

Real people look like what you look like in the morning when you wake up. Real people have pores, expression lines, uneven skin. And they are REALLY beautiful. It is so important to remember that you are real, live ART. All the time, every day. You are beautiful just the way God made you.

There are many responses to makeup artistry. Two common ones are either to wish you were the art, or to wish it away completely.

To wish that you were the art is a misunderstanding of how beautifully God has made you.

To wish away the art completely is a misunderstanding of the creative characteristic of God Himself that He has put in us.

It is easy to miss the good, the reflection of God, in each situation.


Let us appreciate...

Art(after hair/makeup/photoshop):






And...ART:

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

~Psalm 139:14

Fruit