For my senior honors thesis at Ball State University, I am writing a women’s devotional book. I began this project hoping that thousands of women would benefit from the stories and words that line the pages. What I didn’t anticipate however, but have found along the way, is that God is changing my heart as I delve deeper into this project.

Yesterday, after my boyfriend and my annual camping trip, I sat down to write chapter four of the book, “What is Beauty.” For 10 minutes, I sat in frustration, unsure where to start. As a woman who has struggled with self-perceived beauty, there is so much I could say…
When the words wouldn’t come I took a break by uploading camping pictures. As the thumbnails flashed one-by-one across my computer screen, I felt a jolt of inspiration. I remembered the joy I felt walking through canyons and riverbeds, breathing in the sights and sounds of trickling waterfalls and basking in the calming embrace of fall’s sunshine. I’d never been so captivated by beauty.
Nature doesn’t try to be showy or beautiful—it just is. The magnificence of God’s creation doesn’t have to be realized, because it’s all around us and can’t be denied.
We, too, are beautiful as we are, and our Father longs for us to see ourselves the way He sees us. I’m always captivated by Psalm 139 where it talks about God loving us for all that we are: