There’s a dress hanging in my closet. It’s a beautiful brick-orange maxi dress in a soft fabric that swishes about when I walk. It’s not stuffily formal. Nor is it informal. It’s one of those outfits you can “dress up” with the right jewelry – you know what I’m talking about, ladies. It would work great for a brunch out or for church, I thought, when I bought it.

Like many other outfits in my closet, I’ve worn that dress exactly once.

So much for the perfect-for-all-occasions dress.

The one time I did wear the dress, I was on a trip and didn’t have the advantage of diving into my closet for second, third and fourth outfit iterations. Had I been home with my entire closet at my disposal, the number of times that dress would have seen the world would have likely dwindled from one to zero.

But that has nothing to do with the merits (or lack thereof) of that poor, forsaken dress.

So often, we women try on outfits only to appraise ourselves like exacting judges on a Milan runway show. Our inner critics are harsh. They yell at ear-splitting decibels but also manage to sound patronizingly caring. “That waistline emphasizes your stomach. Those sleeves make your arms look flabby. Do you really think you should be wearing that?” the voice says with mocking concern.

I listen. I believe. I discard. Usually, by the time I’m ready for any occasion, I have a mountain of rejected clothes on my bed that rivals Kilimanjaro. Sounds somewhat familiar, I’m guessing.

Why? Why do we do this to ourselves?

The answer is that we’ve unwittingly bought into this false notion of what constitutes beauty. We’ve been blitzed into seeing only one version of perfect.

Just last week, I was tempted to Photoshop my pictures so I appeared thinner. I know, I know… I hang my head in shame.

Let me backtrack and explain the what’s and where’s of the situation. I was at a professional photoshoot getting pictures taken for my soon-to-be-launched website. For too long it has been a boring, run-of-the-mill, everyone-has-one blog. Now, it was going to be a glorified “website.” Which meant it needed pictures that were the perfect version of me. Still me of course. Just a wee bit more streamlined and, ahem, defined.

Thankfully, the professional photographer was a good friend who assured me that nipping and tucking on Photoshop wouldn’t take long.

Then he asked me an annoyingly pertinent question: “But don’t you want to be yourself?”

Squirm.

Honestly, though, the resounding answer is a YES.

I do want to be myself. And I can be myself only when I see myself the way my Creator God sees me.

You know the saying “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”?

That’s especially true when the Beholder is the One who declares that we are the apple of His eye (Zechariah 2:8). The One reminds us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139: 14). The One who looks at us with great delight (Zephaniah 3:17) and calls us His treasured possession (Deuteronomy 14: 2).

This Women’s Day, let’s find beauty in the seemingly imperfect. Let’s shush those inner critics. Let’s tell airbrushed Photoshop images to go do something more useful. Let’s rock those never-worn dresses in our closets.

Let’s see ourselves through the eyes of our Beholder.