caution
This is an excerpt from the book Authentic Beauty by Leslie Ludy. I thought I'd type out one part of the book that I was reading last night and which really, really struck me... I know it's long but I think every girl should read this. So if you have some spare time on your hands please take time to read this... it could change your perspective on life.
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Looking back on my life, I see how far I strayed from my childhood fairy-tale ideas. I see how tarnished and torn I became on my desperate quest to become a cherished princess. Because of that, I am truly amazed at what ultimately happened on my journey. After years of heartache and despair, I stumbled upon a path I never before knew existed. Trekking through the rugged terrain of life, I had been blinded to its presence by my pain. But when I finally allowed myself to take a tentative step onto this ancient, dusty, hideen path, my entire world was dramatically altered. And incredibly, my wounded feminine heart, with allits disillusionment and disappointment, was miraculously revived.
After years of convincing myself that all my searching for love had been in vain, a most unusual thing happened. I discovered my prind. All of my confusing female desires and seemingly foolish princess dreams now found their purpose... in him. This love story did not happen merely because of an amazing stroke of good fortune. It did not occue simply because I happened to be in the right place at the right time. This beautiful romance was made possible by something far more tangible, something that lies within the grasp of every young woman. The following account of the love story I discovered may seem like a surreal daydream, but it is far closer to reality than you might guess. So please don't be tempted to write it off as unattainable. Your feminine heart may be much closer to finding true love than you think.
He was someone I had known for years. He had been a close family friend. He had many appealing qualities, but I had never really thought about him in a romantic way. It was true that he had a sensitive and tender side that I had seen on few occasions. But he was also extremely passionate about truth, and I felt that sometimes he came across a little too strong on certain points. To be honest, he intimidated me. It also seemed that he was a little too involved with "church stuff." When I though of him, I was reminded of Sunday school lessons with flannel Bible story characters or gold offering plates-this was not exactly the atmosphere for true love!
he was one of those people with a piercing gaze that can see straight into the depths of your soul. Because of this, I had gone out of my way to avoid him for the past few years. For some time no my life had been a chaotic mess of compromise and confusion. i didn't want him to see what I had become. If he found out what I had done, I was sure he would sternly reprimand me and remind me that it was too late for me to ever discover anything more. But I soon realized I was very, very wrong about him.
I found him waiting for me by the apple trees near my back gate one day as I headed out for a morning walk. I was startled to see him there, surprised that after all these years and all the times I had ignored him, he still wanted to spend time with me. I gave him a tentative glanze, and he smiled at me-a tender, intimate smile that made my heart lurch inspite of itself. I quickly looked away.
"Can I walk with you?" he asked in a gentle voice. I nodded, still avoiding his gaze, and he fell into step beside me. We made our way in silence for a while, listening to the occasional chatter of a squirrel or high-pitched chirp of a robin. I kept my eyes on the gravel path at my feet.
"I miss you," he told me simply. Though it was obvious to both of us that I was the one who had put the distance between us, there was no hint of accusation in his tone. I bit my lip and nodded again, unsure what to say in response.
We walked a little farther, and I realized his presence was both refreshing and comforting. I could feel his tender eyes watching me, silently telling me how important I was to him, though I could not figure out why. Nothing else was ssaid during the rest of our time together that day, but I sensed that something more was about to happen between us. I just wasn't sure if I was ready.
Our friendship slowly grew. The more time I spent with him, the more I realized how utterly different he was from any man I had ever encountered. In him, there was none of the sex-hungry glances I had received from the guys at school, not a trace of the flirtatious teasing that had always surrounded me, and not a strain of the seductive charms I had grown so accustomed to in men. But somehow I knew that he loved me. That he deeply desired me. That he found me beautiful. I hardly dared to hope that I had finally found the one man that could fulfill those long-forgotten dreams of mine. Even if he could be my prince, I was sure I had found him too late.
"This is completely crazy," I told myself aloud one night as I tossed and turned in bed. "He wouldn't want someone like me." I was convinced that his love for me would shrivel up in a second if he truly understood how many mistakes I had made. I didn't think I could risk becoming attached to him. I had been hurt so many times that I didn't know how much more pain my heart could handle.
I had another worry. He didn't live his life the way anyone else did. He stood out like a neon billboard on a lonely desert highway. He was mocked and misunderstood by quite a few people in my life. I knew he would not fit into my world, would not be accepted by my friends, and would not be at home in most of my surroundings. How could I possibly love someone like this? hwat did he expect me to do-walk away from everything just to be with him?
I wrestled with my fears for weeks. He never pressured me to make a decision. He simple reminded me, in a hundred different ways, that he loved me and that he longed for me. He was infinitely patient, tender, and sensitive... the kind of prince I had dreamed of for as long as I could remember. He made the immature romantic wanna-bes that had historically gained my affection seem like pitiful counterfeits. After seeing the real thing, I couldn't believe I had fallen for such poor substitues. But at the same time, I couldn't help wondering whether or not he might just be too good to be true.
The more time I spent around him, the more something inside me desperately wanted to just surrender and fall into his waiting arms. But I was afraid to let myself trust him. I was afraid of what the decision might cost me.
Over time, gradually, like the moving of the hour hand, my guard came down. No matter how many times I pulled away from him, his love remained inmoving, like a majestic, unwavering mountain overlooking a tumultous ocean. I had even tried to convince him that I was not good enough for him. I'd told him in detail, with hot tears flashing in my tormented eyes, exactly what I had done with my life, heart, and body over the past years. But i sensed that isntead of judging me, he was inwardly weeping over ever piece of my shattered heart. Coming face-to-face with this kind of infinite kindness left me stunned.
One morning, as I was sitting alone on a bench in the crisp spring air, I felt him softly approach me. He didn't have to speak. I took a long look into the unfathomable depths of love in his eyes, and I melted. With tears coursing down my face like a cascading waterfall, I fell into his arms and told him passionately that my heart belonged to no one but him. At that moment, my life, my pursuits, my friends, everything I had built my world around, faded away into nothingness. None of it seemed even remotely important anymore. Nothing matter now but him.
As I whispered my devotion to him, a brilliant peace crept steadily into my heat and began to quietly mend its broken pieces. His eyes were wet with unspeakable joy. I felt like an eagle gliding freely along the majestic mountain peaks following an afternoon storm. I had finally found my prince. He had gallantly searched for me and rescued my horrible dungeons of captivity. He had loved me in spite of my wretched, ugly condition. He had taken the filthy rags I was clothed in and given me the sparkling gown of a beautiful princess. His amazing love had fully revived my shattered, wounded, bleeding heart. And though I knew that now I must sacrifice all I had ever known in order to be with him, there was not a shred of doubt lingering in my mind. It was like giving him a pile of worthless pebbles and receiving a houseful of priceless jewels in return.
Most of us don't realize that Jesus Christ is not a flimsy flannel board figure from a Sunday school lesson; that He is not a stern dictator looking down on us from heaven to make sure we obey His rules; that He is not a distant being who is too busy running the world to care about the details of our day-to-day lives; and that He is so much more than someone we say we believe in to keep ourselves out of hell when we die.
He is the Lover of our soul. Our true prince. The One we have been longing for, searching for, and dreaming of since childhood. The One who will love us the way no one else can love us; the One who will cherish us forever; the One who will transform us from a hopeless girl in rags into a beautiful, confident, radiant princess. He is the One who makes us ready for true, lasting, human love. And He is the One that meets our deepest needs when human love falls short.
In every generation, there are a few young women that discover their true Prince. Just like the princesses in my childhood fairty tales, once they meet this Prince and realize His incredible love for them, they willingly give up everything else to follow Him to the ends of the earth. They live a life with their Prince that is utterly different from the world around them. They are radiant. They are confident. They are fulfilled. They possess a truly authentic beauty that flows from within. They are world-changers. They are set apart in complete and utter devotion to their Prince. And they stand out from among all the other young women like a lily among thorns.
No matter how many times our dreams have been shattered, or how many times our heart has been trampled, or how far we have strayed from Him, our Prince is standing outside our dungeon window, tenderly calling out our name, patiently waiting for us to hear His voice and invite Him to rescue us from the bleakness of a life lived without Him. He is passionately longing for us, eager and ready to hold us, wash us clean, heal us, and carry us away to His land to cherish us as His princess forever.
This kind of fairy-tale romance between a young woman and her true Prince does not come without a sacrifice. It does not come without pain. But it is the most pricless gift we will ever be offered. And it is the most beautiful and fulfilling existence we could ever know or imagine.
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Looking back on my life, I see how far I strayed from my childhood fairy-tale ideas. I see how tarnished and torn I became on my desperate quest to become a cherished princess. Because of that, I am truly amazed at what ultimately happened on my journey. After years of heartache and despair, I stumbled upon a path I never before knew existed. Trekking through the rugged terrain of life, I had been blinded to its presence by my pain. But when I finally allowed myself to take a tentative step onto this ancient, dusty, hideen path, my entire world was dramatically altered. And incredibly, my wounded feminine heart, with allits disillusionment and disappointment, was miraculously revived.
After years of convincing myself that all my searching for love had been in vain, a most unusual thing happened. I discovered my prind. All of my confusing female desires and seemingly foolish princess dreams now found their purpose... in him. This love story did not happen merely because of an amazing stroke of good fortune. It did not occue simply because I happened to be in the right place at the right time. This beautiful romance was made possible by something far more tangible, something that lies within the grasp of every young woman. The following account of the love story I discovered may seem like a surreal daydream, but it is far closer to reality than you might guess. So please don't be tempted to write it off as unattainable. Your feminine heart may be much closer to finding true love than you think.
He was someone I had known for years. He had been a close family friend. He had many appealing qualities, but I had never really thought about him in a romantic way. It was true that he had a sensitive and tender side that I had seen on few occasions. But he was also extremely passionate about truth, and I felt that sometimes he came across a little too strong on certain points. To be honest, he intimidated me. It also seemed that he was a little too involved with "church stuff." When I though of him, I was reminded of Sunday school lessons with flannel Bible story characters or gold offering plates-this was not exactly the atmosphere for true love!
he was one of those people with a piercing gaze that can see straight into the depths of your soul. Because of this, I had gone out of my way to avoid him for the past few years. For some time no my life had been a chaotic mess of compromise and confusion. i didn't want him to see what I had become. If he found out what I had done, I was sure he would sternly reprimand me and remind me that it was too late for me to ever discover anything more. But I soon realized I was very, very wrong about him.
I found him waiting for me by the apple trees near my back gate one day as I headed out for a morning walk. I was startled to see him there, surprised that after all these years and all the times I had ignored him, he still wanted to spend time with me. I gave him a tentative glanze, and he smiled at me-a tender, intimate smile that made my heart lurch inspite of itself. I quickly looked away.
"Can I walk with you?" he asked in a gentle voice. I nodded, still avoiding his gaze, and he fell into step beside me. We made our way in silence for a while, listening to the occasional chatter of a squirrel or high-pitched chirp of a robin. I kept my eyes on the gravel path at my feet.
"I miss you," he told me simply. Though it was obvious to both of us that I was the one who had put the distance between us, there was no hint of accusation in his tone. I bit my lip and nodded again, unsure what to say in response.
We walked a little farther, and I realized his presence was both refreshing and comforting. I could feel his tender eyes watching me, silently telling me how important I was to him, though I could not figure out why. Nothing else was ssaid during the rest of our time together that day, but I sensed that something more was about to happen between us. I just wasn't sure if I was ready.
Our friendship slowly grew. The more time I spent with him, the more I realized how utterly different he was from any man I had ever encountered. In him, there was none of the sex-hungry glances I had received from the guys at school, not a trace of the flirtatious teasing that had always surrounded me, and not a strain of the seductive charms I had grown so accustomed to in men. But somehow I knew that he loved me. That he deeply desired me. That he found me beautiful. I hardly dared to hope that I had finally found the one man that could fulfill those long-forgotten dreams of mine. Even if he could be my prince, I was sure I had found him too late.
"This is completely crazy," I told myself aloud one night as I tossed and turned in bed. "He wouldn't want someone like me." I was convinced that his love for me would shrivel up in a second if he truly understood how many mistakes I had made. I didn't think I could risk becoming attached to him. I had been hurt so many times that I didn't know how much more pain my heart could handle.
I had another worry. He didn't live his life the way anyone else did. He stood out like a neon billboard on a lonely desert highway. He was mocked and misunderstood by quite a few people in my life. I knew he would not fit into my world, would not be accepted by my friends, and would not be at home in most of my surroundings. How could I possibly love someone like this? hwat did he expect me to do-walk away from everything just to be with him?
I wrestled with my fears for weeks. He never pressured me to make a decision. He simple reminded me, in a hundred different ways, that he loved me and that he longed for me. He was infinitely patient, tender, and sensitive... the kind of prince I had dreamed of for as long as I could remember. He made the immature romantic wanna-bes that had historically gained my affection seem like pitiful counterfeits. After seeing the real thing, I couldn't believe I had fallen for such poor substitues. But at the same time, I couldn't help wondering whether or not he might just be too good to be true.
The more time I spent around him, the more something inside me desperately wanted to just surrender and fall into his waiting arms. But I was afraid to let myself trust him. I was afraid of what the decision might cost me.
Over time, gradually, like the moving of the hour hand, my guard came down. No matter how many times I pulled away from him, his love remained inmoving, like a majestic, unwavering mountain overlooking a tumultous ocean. I had even tried to convince him that I was not good enough for him. I'd told him in detail, with hot tears flashing in my tormented eyes, exactly what I had done with my life, heart, and body over the past years. But i sensed that isntead of judging me, he was inwardly weeping over ever piece of my shattered heart. Coming face-to-face with this kind of infinite kindness left me stunned.
One morning, as I was sitting alone on a bench in the crisp spring air, I felt him softly approach me. He didn't have to speak. I took a long look into the unfathomable depths of love in his eyes, and I melted. With tears coursing down my face like a cascading waterfall, I fell into his arms and told him passionately that my heart belonged to no one but him. At that moment, my life, my pursuits, my friends, everything I had built my world around, faded away into nothingness. None of it seemed even remotely important anymore. Nothing matter now but him.
As I whispered my devotion to him, a brilliant peace crept steadily into my heat and began to quietly mend its broken pieces. His eyes were wet with unspeakable joy. I felt like an eagle gliding freely along the majestic mountain peaks following an afternoon storm. I had finally found my prince. He had gallantly searched for me and rescued my horrible dungeons of captivity. He had loved me in spite of my wretched, ugly condition. He had taken the filthy rags I was clothed in and given me the sparkling gown of a beautiful princess. His amazing love had fully revived my shattered, wounded, bleeding heart. And though I knew that now I must sacrifice all I had ever known in order to be with him, there was not a shred of doubt lingering in my mind. It was like giving him a pile of worthless pebbles and receiving a houseful of priceless jewels in return.
Most of us don't realize that Jesus Christ is not a flimsy flannel board figure from a Sunday school lesson; that He is not a stern dictator looking down on us from heaven to make sure we obey His rules; that He is not a distant being who is too busy running the world to care about the details of our day-to-day lives; and that He is so much more than someone we say we believe in to keep ourselves out of hell when we die.
He is the Lover of our soul. Our true prince. The One we have been longing for, searching for, and dreaming of since childhood. The One who will love us the way no one else can love us; the One who will cherish us forever; the One who will transform us from a hopeless girl in rags into a beautiful, confident, radiant princess. He is the One who makes us ready for true, lasting, human love. And He is the One that meets our deepest needs when human love falls short.
In every generation, there are a few young women that discover their true Prince. Just like the princesses in my childhood fairty tales, once they meet this Prince and realize His incredible love for them, they willingly give up everything else to follow Him to the ends of the earth. They live a life with their Prince that is utterly different from the world around them. They are radiant. They are confident. They are fulfilled. They possess a truly authentic beauty that flows from within. They are world-changers. They are set apart in complete and utter devotion to their Prince. And they stand out from among all the other young women like a lily among thorns.
No matter how many times our dreams have been shattered, or how many times our heart has been trampled, or how far we have strayed from Him, our Prince is standing outside our dungeon window, tenderly calling out our name, patiently waiting for us to hear His voice and invite Him to rescue us from the bleakness of a life lived without Him. He is passionately longing for us, eager and ready to hold us, wash us clean, heal us, and carry us away to His land to cherish us as His princess forever.
This kind of fairy-tale romance between a young woman and her true Prince does not come without a sacrifice. It does not come without pain. But it is the most pricless gift we will ever be offered. And it is the most beautiful and fulfilling existence we could ever know or imagine.
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