A Letter To My Future Husband

To My Dearest Future Husband:

I can honestly say that I don't know where to begin. I will start off by saying that I am blessed to have the Lord in my life, and I am so grateful that I am a part of his. Goodness knows I don't deserve his love, but I am honored to have it.
I wait anxiously for the day when I will finally meet you. I spend a lot of time thinking about you- how we will meet, how we will grow to love each other, and how wonderful our lives will be when we are married. I know that marriage isn't easy, but as long as we have love from God, and love for each other, we will make it through anything. I pray for you often, as well as for myself. I pray that God will help make you into the man that he wants you to be, as well as a good husband. I pray also for myself, that I will be a wonderful wife for you, and a wonderful mother for our kids. I pray that he prepares me to be this wonderful woman- a wife of noble character, like in Proverbs 31. I have prided myself on being that woman in any relationship, and I especially want to be that woman for you.

I confess that in the past, I spent so much time hurt by my previous relationships, that I looked for love in the wrong people. I was lonely, felt unloved and unwanted, and felt like beauty was something I did not have. Even now, I sometimes deal with these thoughts, as I am only human. With God working in me though, I have come to find that I am not defined by my past relationships, or how the world sees me. I am defined by how God sees me, and to God, I am his magnum opus. I am wonderfully and fearfully made.

I have only two gifts to offer you. The first gift is my love. I believe that God has designed me in a way, that my love for you will be so strong, that it will be hard to find a love like ours. I have been told before by my dad, that this is one of my best qualities. I hope to bring this in to our relationship. The second gift that I can give you is my purity. So often, I see people give themselves away before marriage in hopes that the one they love will finally love them, or because they think it's just another part of a relationship. I take my purity very seriously, and I want to stand before God and you on our wedding day knowing that I saved myself for you and only you. I hope and pray that you have saved yourself for me, though I will love you just as much even if you haven't. I will not look at you any differently or judge you in any way because you are still a precious gift of God!

I love you all ready my dearest husband. I look forward to our life together. It will be a hard journey. There will be ups and downs in our walk of life, but I guarantee that it will be one of the most rewarding journeys. I miss you even though I have never met you, and I will continue to pray for you.

All my love,
Your future wife, Danika

A More Beautiful You

You know, I have come to realize that there are many, many women out there who have the same doubts as I do...about being beautiful. To some who see beauty as an outward reflection, they are always looking in the mirror and wondering if they look good enough. To others, who judge beauty from the inside, they are always trying to please others, not by any means possible, but in order to keep the peace, they forgo their own voice, and let people walk on them. They are door mats. Then there are the select group that judge beauty inside and out. Those are the people who have a bit more of an advantage over others, but also feel the most pain, as I've seen from experience. We are the ones who feel we have more to lose. We are the ones who feel more pain when life throws us curve balls. Well, as I am one of these people, and am working on gaining a stronger image of who I am, I figure the best way to do that, is to trust in God. While trusting in God, I can take what I learn and share it with others.

What if I told you that there are only a small group of women that fit the "world" beauty standards? It's true. I was reading the book, More Beautiful You by Jonny Diaz. Turns out that these standards are just about impossible to maintain. When I say impossible, I mean you better have a lot of money for all the cosmetic surgery, and a body that can stand up to any obstacle, otherwise, you are out of luck. The most beautiful ages are 14-23, which means that I have only have one more year left. The best weight to be at is 110 pounds. I would probably squish someone that small. She wears a size 2 dress. I could probably fit into one when if I became anorexic. The perfect height is 5'9"-6'0" tall. I would have to grow another four inches, or just have painful surgery.  The perfect cup size is a D...haha. Also, you have to have long hair that is shiny and smooth, perfect skin, and wide eyes.

I think the first thing that people need to do, is toss those ideas out the window. I don't know a single person that fits in to that category. Maybe a model, and even then, she doesn't posses all of those qualities. I can tell you that there is a much better way to live your life, and view yourself. In the bible, 1 Peter 3:3-4 says: "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." I would much rather live up to that standard. Standards change over time anyways. Do you know of anyone who looks exactly the way they did when they were 20? The people that I used to go to school with about 4 years ago don't even look the same, which brings me to another verse...Proverbs 31:30 says: "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting: but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Something that each person has to ask themselves is how much time they spend on their outer beauty and how much time do they spend on their inner beauty. Outer beauty is something that changes. It won't last long. We all get old eventually, our skin sags, we get crows feet, our hair loses its color, etc. Inner beauty is something that can last forever if you just put some work in to it. God will always help you on that journey.  The last verse I leave you with is Psalm 139:14...which I challenge you to look up for yourself. This will give you a chance to dive in to the word!