“Let the king be enthralled by your beauty…” – Psalm 45:11
Let me be completely real with you right now. I’ve never thought of myself as beautiful. Even as a child, I was the tomboy who never cared that much about what I wore or what my hair looked like. I had two best friends growing up and I always thought they were so beautiful. I was the frumpy one.
I had many other good qualities, which I realized even back then. I was smart and made good grades. I was creative. I was always involved in sports, yearbook, drama, chorus. I knew that I could sing well from the time I was little. But physically attractive? Nah. 
Maybe that’s why in high school I adopted Proverbs 31:30 as my life verse – “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” If I focused on that, I thought, it wouldn’t matter what I looked like. But it did matter more than it should have.
It stuck with me throughout my 20’s and into my 30’s. There were periods of time when I thought I might be pretty. Overall, however, I really just couldn’t find my own attractiveness. It affected everything about my relationships, because I longed for every guy I liked or dated to find me beautiful. My divorce in my early 20’s did me no favors, because after that I felt as undesirable as ever. And it took me a very long time to realize where my beauty came from and whose opinion really did matter.
It was at the end of another failed relationship. By then, I was 35 years old. I had been in a relationship for about a year that never felt very secure. And when shortly after the breakup, he was head over heels for somebody else and talked about her in ways he never talked about me, I reached a low point.
That was when I discovered Psalm 45:11. “Let the king be enthralled by your beauty…” Most commentators believe this passage is talking about Christ and the church. But in my heart, it was talking about me specifically. And something hit me that day that hasn’t left me since. I didn’t need that old boyfriend, or ex-husband, or the people I considered beautiful to see my worth or my attractiveness. The KING Himself is enthralled by MY beauty. Sisters, can we just stop and bask in that a little while? He doesn’t just notice. He doesn’t just give a passing glance. He is enthralled. And you know what? He doesn’t care about the outside either. He sees that inner beauty that nobody else truly does. He sees our worth as the beautiful child He created and for whom He died. To Him, we are priceless, no matter what this shell of a body looks like.
[Tweet “He doesn’t just notice. He doesn’t just give a passing glance. He is enthralled.”]
I’ve now reached my 40’s, and my entire outlook is different. It took a long time to learn that, and I hope, if you are a young person, that you will learn it earlier and easier than I did. I look at myself in the mirror and there are things I would like to change. I weigh more than I used to. There are some laugh lines around my eyes and mouth. I have stretch marks that aren’t pretty.
But you know what?
I am my husband’s wife.
I am my son’s mother.
I am a daughter of the King.
And He is enthralled.
Love in Christ,
She Who Has Believed 
Yes to all of this!! And amen!
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Thank you so much for reading and for your encouraging words!
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Praise God for His faithfulness to give you what you needed. And your encouragement to the young women is a good word for all women no matter our age. Once we truly understand WHO we belong to and the beauty He sees in us it will help us to accept and love ourselves just the way God see’s us. Thank you for sharing.
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Thank you for reading and responding! 🙂
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What an encouragement. You are a very talented writer. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you, Tammy! I’m still working on it. 🙂
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Thank you for your honesty, Edie. I DO see a beautiful glow on your face. It must be from the time you spent with The King. 🙂 Blessings!
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I certainly hope people can see Him through me. Thank you!
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This is AWESOME! I think I will read this to my girls this morning. They need to hear it!
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Thank you so much, Lisa! It definitely came from the heart. 🙂
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Edie – Such a joy to read your posts. I met you, Scott and Phillip at Publix one afternoon.
Scott is our tech at City of Union PD. We love him and his stories of you and Phillip. He speaks of you with pure love and contentment. He is very proud of you. Please know you are an inspiration to many, including myself. God Bless you and your journey. Thanks for sharing your faith. Judy
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Thank you so much, Judy! And thank you for reading my blog. Scott speaks very highly of you as well.
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Great post. I love the word “enthralled” . What an awesome truth to cling to. It also makes me think of the word “lavished” in that He has lavished his love on us. Not just, “He loved us”, but He poured out and totally covered us up in His love.
I appreciate your authenticity and sharing your heart! He calls us beloved. What an excellent reminder!
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Thank you! I love both of those words! Sometimes the “regular” words just don’t do Him justice. 🙂
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Hmm it appears like your blog ate my first comment (it was super long) so I guess I’ll
just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to
everything. Do you have any recommendations
for novice blog writers? I’d certainly appreciate it.
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I’ve been blogging for less than a year myself so I’m not sure how much help I would be! I would recommend finding some blogging groups in your niche on Facebook. I’m in a few faith blogging groups and they have been a great help to me! Thank you for reading and responding!
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