Why Do We Love Beauty so Much?

I was praying my rosary in the chapel today after meeting with a friend. We're reading Captivating by Jon & Stasi Eldredge together, and the chapter we talked about today dealt with beauty, and I was struck by a couple things.

Sunrise

The book poses the question: what does woman teach about God?
One of the answers is beauty. Beauty is the essence of a woman; it is also the essence of God. Think about this world - we see beauty in nature - there is just something breath-taking about being in the woods, or on a mountain, or watching the sunrise over the ocean. One of my favorite life experiences was watching the sun rise over the ocean with two of my dearest and closest friends.  The picture doesn't do the beauty of the experience justice, but gives you an idea.
I often get restless and make a drive down to hocking hills hiking trails because I long to encounter the beauty of God in His creation.

Beauty does many things - it says all shall be well, it invites, it nourishes, it inspires, it comforts. But beauty is probably the most misunderstood aspect of woman, and of God. It is distorted by our world, ourselves, and the devil. The devil doesn't want us to know the Lord, and beauty is essential to who God is, of course he's going to distort beauty. Our world has different perceptions of beauty. As time goes on and cultures change, the definition of beauty changes. If we don't meet the standard of what is considered beautiful we try to change our bodies.

A friend of mine once said "well Joe (not actual name) said I looked beautiful with make-up on, but he's my boyfriend so he has to say that." So I asked one of my guy friends to explain to me why guys say a girl is beautiful without make-up because we all know make-up has the ability to make us look more attractive physically. And my friend said that when a woman isn't wearing make-up it allows a man to look beyond her exterior beauty and see the beauty of her and her soul, the beauty of her feminine heart (those weren't his words exactly).

Yet women constantly feel they don't measure up. We ask am I lovely? Am I worthy to be delighted in? Do I captivate you?

Most women doubt that they have any beauty to offer the world. So we are tired - women as a whole are tired and worn down because they are hiding from their fear they have nothing to offer this world.

In ministry, the classic,basic women's session is you are beautiful. And I can't tell you the number of times I found out beauty was the topic at hand and I was annoyed and frustrated - ughh I get it, I'm beautiful yada yada yada... 

However, I don't think we get it. If we did get it, leaders wouldn't feel the need to address this topic.
Beauty is the essence of who we are. We have to do nothing in order to be beautiful. In how God created us to be, we are beautiful. But we don't get it... we don't believe that truth. We question we doubt, we feel insecure. Our beauty is good. It does good things, it teaches the world about God.
Why do we live in a world obsessed with beauty? Because beauty is essential to who God is, and it is one of the ways God teaches his people about himself through women.

Therefore, my sisters, you are beautiful. Just as you are. You don't need to strive. By being who God created you to be, you will set the world on fire. Embrace the gifts, the beauty of your heart to offer beauty, comfort, inspiration to he world. In a world obsessed with beauty, don't be afraid to embrace your beauty!

"In each person there is an invaluable treasure, a facet of the face of Christ that can't be found in anyone else." 

-Fr. Michael Gaitley-