How Far Will You Go?

FaceTune. Pixtr. Perfect365. Photo Makeover. ModiFace Photo Editor. Beauty Booth Pro. Visage Lab. Beauty Camera. PicBeauty. Pimple Remover Photo ReTouch.

These are the top 10 apps for photo correcting that are being used these days. Some of their descriptions:

"does all the hard work for you by automatically detecting what needs to be corrected in your picture. It will eliminate skin blemishes and red eye to ensure a flawless, natural look, and it works even in group photos."

"The face detection feature of this phone makes it easy for you to remove dark circles under your eyes, remove unsightly blemishes from your skin, and even customize your face (think higher cheekbones, higher nose, firmer faces)."

"Make your ugly profile picture perfect."

"Turns ugly people, beautiful, in a matter of minutes!"

If your automatic response to the list above was "Oh wow! I didn't know about that one! I'm going to go download it!", we have a problem.

Are you one of the 4 million users? Have you paid the $3.99 to have "a magical, perfect touch" at the tip of your fingers?

Let me be real with you. 

I just sat here, 2 minutes ago, crying. Literal, actual tears. I saw an ad for FaceTune where they took a newborn baby with normal baby acne, and made it perfect. And for some reason, as I feel our 5th beautiful blessing kick me gently, as she's still forming inside me, I burst into tears. 

She has no idea what this world will try and do to her.

If we have to use a photo correcting app, because we're embarrassed that our baby has acne, this problem is more poisonous than even I realized.

I will take the time to admit that Ellyn had baby acne when she was first born. Bad baby acne. The kind that spread all across her face, and had puss coming out of it. Bless her heart, her brand new baby skin couldn't handle all the kisses from everyone who wore make up, had a greasy face, or wore perfume! It broke my heart. Any picture I posted of her I posted in Black and White, just so that I wasn't drawing attention to her sweet, raw cheeks. I cried out to God. I begged for help. My husband finally said "Let's put some dirt on her face." I was crying, and looked at him like he was an alien.

Uhh. Excuse?

"I'm serious, babe. When I was a little kid, and I'd get poison ivy really bad, I put mud on it, and let the mud become hard, then rinse it off. It dried up the poison ivy!"

No.

2 minutes later, he was in our bedroom, stirring up dirt from our backyard mixed with a little water. He kissed Elly's forehead, and said "This is your very first facial, sweetheart. It's an honor for Daddy to treat you to a spa day!"

I started laughing, and wiped away my tears. I held her tiny little fingers, watched as she cooed up at her Daddy, as he gently rubbed mud on her tiny cheeks. A friend had also recommended using Aveeno Baby Wash, because it was a more gentle formula than the regular Johnson's Baby Wash. So for the next 3 days, she got an Aveeno Bath, and a mud mask at the Chateau De Daddy. And you know what?

The baby acne went away.

Guess what wouldn't have helped my baby at all?

FaceTune.

Oh sure, the people that would see my baby's porcelain skin, would think "My, what a perfect baby." But then in person? I'd probably feel shame.

About my baby.

I haven't ever downloaded FaceTune or any other photo correcting app. I use filters, because I love that if I don't have good lighting in a picture, it'll brighten it up a bit to show what's happening. 

But I can scroll through my Instagram, and tell you exactly which photo a user has used FaceTune, or some other app, what they did to edit themselves, and the people in the picture, and why it's not real. 

Let me say that again.

It's not real.

The saddest part about having the "perfect" Instagram picture is that when you look in the mirror, he starts screaming at you:

Disgusting.

You look like a monster.

Your face is the ugliest thing I've ever seen.

She has flawless skin, look at all those bumps on you.

Your zits are revolting.

Your fat face takes you down to a 2.

Your freckles are disgusting.

Your bird nose is gross.

No guy will want you. 

You might as well wear a bag over your head.

Your teeth are a mess.

Your hair is nasty.

Your body is fat.

Your skin is pasty. 

You. Are. Ugly.

The "he" I'm referring to is obviously, the devil. The enemy. The one who wants you as far away from God, as humanly possible. How does he do it?

By lying to you.

By killing you. And making you desire to kill yourself.

By stealing any amount of beauty, by letting your mind wander and compare yourself to that person.

Even the world (Teen Vogue) has taken notice to the scary trends we have literally become obsessed with. Check that out here. (Side note: All I typed in the Google search bar was "Damage on using photo correction apps", and this article popped up.)

If the world can see it, why can't we?

I think that most people don't think it's that big of a deal. 

"What's the big deal? I don't like _____ about myself. So what if I just touch it up a little?"

"I just want to look good so that guys will notice me."

"Everybody does it. You literally don't know what pictures are real anymore. I don't want to be the only one posting real pictures."

Those are all lies.

The big deal is just because you don't like something about yourself, doesn't mean you get to just erase it. 

Just because you think every person is doing it to get attention, is that the kind of attention you want? "On the internet, I'm perfect, in real life, I'm a mess."

Is that really what you want? Perfection on the internet?

What about when you go to school the next day, and you have a zit that popped up overnight, because you've been so subconsciously stressed about what your face looks like? So the concealer, powder, and bronzer do their best to cover up the bulge on your cheek, but you can still see and feel it. 

Do you walk around with your head down?

Do you put your hand over your face the whole day?

Do you put a bag over your head?

No.

You don't. Mainly because you know you'd draw more attention to the zit if you did that, than if you just were normal.

Same goes for your body.

You go to your closet, get the size of jeans that fit you, put on the size of clothes that are actually your size, and you go to school.

Because no matter how much adding or subtracting you did on the app, that's the body you have. A normal one. 

The new normal is scary. People joke about not being able to trust whose pictures are real or not, and you know what's sad? 

It's true. 

Most older people wouldn't know that you use FaceTune. Except that for some reason, anytime you don't have makeup on, you treat yourself and those around you, like you look like a monster. 

Guess what?

You are not a monster.

You are beautiful.

"You don't understand, Sierra. I'm disgusting without makeup."

I do understand. I'm a girl. I struggle everyday when I look in the mirror in the morning. 

"I wish I could fix that snaggle tooth."

"I wish I could straighten my crooked teeth."

"I wish I didn't look so fat when I'm pregnant."

"I wish my hair wasn't grown out and scraggly looking."

"I wish _____."

"I wish _____."

"I wish _____."

I do it, too. 

I look in a department store window, and think "Suck it in, sister!"

I people watch, and think "Man, if I just had her lips, BAM!"

I do it, too.

But guess what I've learned? There is no Fairy Godmother. So as much as "I wish", it's not going to come true. 

Praise God.

I'm so glad that I'm different. I'm so glad that my size is what's normal for me. I'm so glad that the first thing I hear from my husband when I wake up is "You are beautiful."

All of those lies that I hear myself say, when I look at my reflection, disappear. 

Because that's what they are: lies.

FaceTune is a lie.

Satan is a lie.

You are lying to yourself when you look in a mirror with no makeup, and think "Gross."

You know what I do, when my mind starts to run wild with the "I wishes"? 

I pray.

God, please forgive me. You created me, and I'm just telling You I hate Your creation when "I wish.". Please reveal to me who You want me to be. Please show me, Lord, the beauty You see, when You look at me with no makeup on. Please let me be a light to a girl or woman struggling with thinking she's ugly. Let me not speak to her like the world does. Let me speak life. Let me show her how beautiful her personality is. Let me encourage her to be bold, let me teach her that she is a treasure. A gift. A blessing. To herself, to me, and to those around her. Let that be good enough. In her life, and in mine. Let Your love be good enough. Silence the enemy, and all of his lies, God. Let me hear Your voice. In Jesus' name. Amen. 

That's real.

I'll not sit on a pedestal and tell you to not wear makeup. I wear makeup. I use Bare Minerals, and I really like it, because it's light, and doesn't make my face feel "heavy". I had a girl ask me to do a makeup tutorial with her, because she couldn't figure out how to just use what God had given her, but not look plastic. I showed her easy, quick things I do. I spend 10 minutes MAX on my makeup. I have children, I am busy, and mainly, I've figured out what works. I don't have time to sit in front of my computer for 30 minutes watching a tutorial about contouring, to then sit at my mirror for another hour, to try and execute the "perfect" image. That perfection takes layers and layers and layers of gunk. I don't desire to have a face painted on, or have the time to paint myself. 

I pray that if this hit your heart, like it did mine, that you'd pray that same prayer. 

God, forgive us. Let us be real before You, so that we can be real before the world. Let us not join the masses, in thinking that the perfect image is what You desire. You want our heart, and all of it. 

Whether you're a teen, a college kid, an adult, a mom, single, or whatever, if you struggle with this, listen to His whispers when He says, 

I love you.

You are beautiful. I know, because I made you.

Love,

The Author and Creator of Life.

This image brought to you with no filter, no FaceTune, and no fake. Just one I found on my Camera Roll that I snapped really quick, and sent to my husband and a friend, in a text message.