Beauty is Pain...?

{I found this post sitting in my drafts from a year or two ago. I thought it was worthwhile posting so here ya go!}

Beauty is pain. How many times have you heard that? It almost seems to be common knowledge - if you want to be "beautiful" you have to go through pain for it whether it's uncomfortable shoes and clothes or diets. I remember when my friend and I were younger, she used to straighten my hair. When she'd accidentally burn me and I would complain she'd jokingly answer "beauty is pain!" Later in my life I thought beauty and thinness were the same thing - you couldn't have one without the other. You had to work for it and it was painful so again I heard the saying "beauty is pain!"

For me, it's been less than a year since I realized that's a lie. I had always known inner beauty was more important and I agreed but I didn't believe I had anything that would make me be "innerly beautiful" so I had to struggle for better outer beauty.  Now, I greatly admired those who you could tell had inner beauty - they were just different. I had many Facebook friends who went to Steubenville and I (the creep that I am) would look through their photos and see how beautiful they and their friends were. I would look through some of their friends photos (I know, I know..creepy) because they just had that "something different" and it draws people to them. That type of beauty does not come from pain. It comes from Joy and Love. They were people who are trying to live their live for God and become more like He who is Beauty, Goodness, Truth, Love and all these other qualities people strive for. A peaceful heart as result from a deep relationship with God is probably one of the most attractive qualities out there.