She's Got the Look

Have you seen the TV Land show "She's Got The Look"? It features several beautiful women, all 35 years or older, who are vying for a shot at a modeling contract.

I confess, I have gotten drawn in to this show. Those of you who know me won't be surprised that the attraction is not an interest in modeling. I got drawn in when I happened across an episode where these gorgeous women were sharing some difficulties they had experienced. One talked about being raised in a Muslim home, and her shame in being beautiful in a culture which so limits women. Another spoke of a very painful, abusive marriage and how she struggled to decide whether to stay or go. A third told how she had been brutally attacked as a teenager, suffering several stab wounds at the hands of a person who was jealous of the young girl's pretty face. Each woman had a painful story to tell.

Part of the job of being a model is the ability to project whatever image the client wants--confidence, happiness, ecstacy, provacativeness--regardless of what the reality is on the person's inside. I'm not saying this is good or bad, just that it's the reality of the job. But seeing these women reveal their hidden pain, and then go right back to hiding it in front of the camera, touched a chord in me.

I don't think that we should walk around with our painful experiences on our sleeves, like some dark badge of honor. But I do think that we shouldn't keep painful experiences hidden behind a carefully crafted facade of Christian "look". For me, the good thing about some of the stuff I've been through is that God has proven Himself faithful, no matter how bad things were.

If I keep thoses experiences hidden behind "the look", who will know what God has brought me from? The Bible says, "They overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony..." (Revelation 12:11 NIV) It may be that the word of my testimony, not hidden behind "the look" is what someone else needs to overcome our common enemy.

God, help us not hide behind "the look" to the extent that we lose the opportunity to help someone else.