You Are Beautiful and Brilliant

I've partnered up with women who have a story to tell.

These women are ready to be authentic with themselves.
Their stories are shared to inspire and encourage you.
To help you validate the truth that we all know deep down in our hearts.
Sometimes we get so bogged down by our insecurities.
By our hurts.
By things that have happened to us, or choices that we've made.
No matter what you look like, or what you have or have not done, no matter the color of your skin, the size of your bottom, no matter where you were born or how you were raised, God wants you to know this:

"YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL AND BRILLIANT"

 

Please welcome my friend Cheri and her story:

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Beautiful and Brilliant

I have wracked my brain for weeks on this subject.  When did I know?   When did it finally sink in?  When was my “ah ha” moment that I am Beautiful and Brilliant?

My lovely parents delighted in their children and offered plenty of love and respect to each of us.  They planted the seed for self-confidence and they watered the seed consistently by praising our accomplishments and believing in us.  But that wasn’t enough to fend off the under current of “not good enough” as I went through middle school and puberty.   High school was a nightmare when I had to move from Texas to GA, and give up cheerleading, dance team and my boy friend!  And then I chose a career of ballet and performing arts, of all things! That was a trap for perfection if ever there was one!  There is no such thing as “good enough” in the world of dance.  There was always room for better, for improvement, for solo star status.  But I never wanted that.  I always wanted to be in the corp.  I wanted to be the support for the one who did want all of that glory and pressure; for that one who did know she was Beautiful and Brilliant!  I was quite content to hide in the mass of tutus, thank you!  I was just not beautiful and brilliant enough.

My young adult years were filled with turbulence.  Not a fertile ground for Beautiful and Brilliant.  Becoming a widow with a 3 year old to raise nearly did me in.  But in true red headed determined fashion, I pushed through.  I found my way through fog and fear.  I conquered daily battles, including a divorce much later.  I raised two beautiful children.  I completed decades of life.  I fattened my faith.  I became a real person with about forty million layers of lessons and experiences.  I finally found the love of my life whom I felt I would be content with forever.  We eventually moved into our dream home, a historical mess that we could rebuild together as we built our own life.   We attended my children’s weddings, became grandparents, celebrated life right out loud!  And we fought to keep our lives and hearts intact when my daughter was diagnosed and battled cancer; when our grandson became deathly ill and spent months in the hospital and when my dad, brother and Paul’s grandmother passed away. 

I can’t tell you when, where and at what exact moment it happened.  But as my artistic self went from performance art to visual art; my creative writing increased by blogging about my life and I became quite sure that God loves me, warts and all…I found the peace I had searched for most of my life.  As I glue mosaics together, creating a completely new image out of glass shards and as I weave cloth and create a beautiful piece of fabric from mere strings, I have peace in my heart, in my soul and in my creative energy flow.  And the more I work with these things, the more I want to promote healing amongst the masses of people who need to heal, especially adolescent girls!

And one day I looked in the mirror and there was no criticism about the image looking back at me.  In fact, she was beautiful, just the way she was.  Freckles, which were the source of a lifetime of teasing, were still shining brightly and dancing around my face.  But now there were lines and wrinkles marking the passage of time.  I could actually name some of them and when they arrived!  I have always been satisfied with my intelligence.  Slightly above average most of the time, unless you’re talking about finance.  And “it” was just there … it had finally arrived.   I am beautiful and brilliant.  It is never too late when you discover that you are beautiful and brilliant just as you are!

p.s. And as a side note Chrissie is the angel who gifted me with the love for putting mosaics together through her art.  So Chrissie, I will say to you right now, you are a major source in my beauty and brilliance finally arriving.  And I love you.  Thank you.

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Thank you sweet Cheri, and for sharing  your honesty and gentle and sincere beauty.
You can learn more about Cheri by clicking on the links below.
Blog

Facebook 

Shop

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If you'd like a free Beautiful and Brilliant 5 x7 print and have a story you feel led to share, (or know a group of people who could benefit from these prints) please email me at gracechrissie@yahoo.com.)  I am more than happy to share them with you free of charge!