In this blog, I share a story of a young lady who got a nose job at 15. Her realization was astonishing. It teaches deep lessons about self-image.
Every year, almost 18 million elective cosmetic procedures are being performed in the United States alone.
Not only that, but this number is steadily growing every year.
One interesting trend is that people who are receiving cosmetic surgery are becoming younger.
One of these people who received cosmetic surgery is Tracy Chabala.
I came across her article written on the MSN website.
In that article, she talked about her experience when she got a nose job at 15 years old.
She mentioned that she got teased and bullied for having a big nose.
Because of that, she became obsessed with what it feels like to have a beautiful nose.
She told herself that if she only has a beautiful nose, she would become more beautiful, popular, and even envied by her friends.
She finally told her mom about how her friends would humiliate her because of her nose.
To her surprise, her mom actually suggested seeing a plastic surgeon.
After being nervous about it, she finally decided to get her nose job at a young age of 15.
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Now, the reason I brought this up is because of the many lessons she learned from the experience. She shared these lessons in her article.
Personally, what struck me most from her realizations is she’s not sure if the nose job made her prettier.
In fact, she wrote in her article that the nose job didn’t remove her insecurities.
She has identified at least 30 more flaws in her body that she doesn’t like.
At the end of her article, she wrote:
“I wish I had my old, forceful, Armenian nose, instead of the picture-perfect Disney thing I have now, this Anglicized version of my true self.”
Image is powerful.
We all know that.
As visual creatures, we too often based the value of one person on how he/she looks.
That’s how human nature operates.
However, this does not mean that we are to follow our human nature.
We have the choice to look beyond our skin and look into the character of a person.
Thankfully, God doesn’t base his love, grace, and mercy on our outer appearance. We read in I Samuel 16:7:
“For the LORD does NOT see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
For YAHWEH, what matters most is our character.
In fact, our physical beauty is fading day by day.
Its charm is even considered by the Bible as deceitful (Proverbs 31:30).
It won’t last forever.
Now, I’m not saying that it is wrong for us to desire becoming beautiful and presentable.
What I’m saying is that if this desire becomes stronger than our desire to develop godly character, then that’s where our problem starts.
The Apostle Peter added:
Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very PRECIOUS in the sight of God (I Peter 3:3-4).
You see, in the final analysis, how you look like won’t matter anymore.
When you stand before the judgment seat of God, you won’t be measured based on your looks or how beautiful you are.
You will be judged according to your character.
So, don’t get depressed or insecure when you don’t like something in your body.
In fact, those are the same things that make you unique.
It makes you who you are.
You’re the only person in this entire world who has these exact attributes.
We are not meant to have a perfect body.
Even the most beautiful man or woman in this world could still point out something in their physique that they don’t like.
Don’t let the social media or society decides what’s beautiful or not.
Let God be your source of beauty and I’m sure, all your insecurities would fade away.
So, the next time you want to change something in your body, think about how special you are.
Think about the fact that you are wonderfully and fearfully made.
Remember that it was God who created you.
You are already beautiful in your own, unique way.
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