I remember watching the Miss USA, Miss America and even Miss Universe pageants as a young girl. It was one of my fondest childhood memories. I have even incorporated watching the various pageants as a staple event for my own daughter and I to enjoy together each year.  Similarly to the way most men enjoy the Super Bowl, NBA Finals etc. the game itself is nothing new. One great player replaces another, the underdog makes a winning comeback, the game never gets old. With the pageants, obviously, there is a new lineup of beautiful faces, wearing beautiful gowns and performing or answering a challenging question, but for me, what I enjoy most is watching these ladies exude the highest form of confidence. I mean, think about what it must take to walk in a swimsuit, perform a talent, and answer an impromptu question in front of an audience of thousands of live fans, and millions of TV viewers, all while maintaining the highest level of elegance, grace and poise. WOW!!!

Last week, my dear friend and former Miss USA (1990), Carole Gist, invited me to to attend the live taping of the Miss USA Pageant in Las Vegas. It was an experience I will never forget. I was surrounded by some of the most beautiful women I had ever seen, wearing the most elegant attire, with the most stunning hair, makeup, and accessories. But once again, I couldn’t help but notice the confidence required to be successful at this level of competition. Where does this confidence come from? How can you possibly answer on the spot, “What is your idea of feminism and what does it mean to you?” with 6 inch heels, a gown worth thousands of dollars, a face full of makeup, 10 cameras in your face all in 30 seconds????? I mean, their voice didn’t crack, their knees didn’t buckle, they didn’t stumble, fumble, or waver.

It made me consider the idea that though most of us will never be competitors in the next Miss Universe Pageant, we can, and should still operate in the highest level of confidence and excellence every single day of our lives. But how? Many people today are plagued by the tragedies of their past, by deep feelings of inferiority, by the comparison game and by thoughts of not being good enough. They wear these feelings like badges on their sleeve or camouflage them with high price items, makeup, degrees, name brand clothes, cars, or other things to fill the void of their deep insecurities.  The insanity of that venture is that it never seems to pan out. “I will feel pretty enough if I could just get down to a size 4… If I could just have bigger breast…If I could sing as good as her… The endless plight of getting to a size 4 is only met with yet another point of displeasure and the target is shifted elsewhere.

We all have our points of improvement, parts of our past we wish we could reverse, elements of our appearance we would like to re-sculpt, but this cannot be the measurement that determines our self-worth. Our value is not defined by images on TV, a number on a scale, the tempo at which others are moving, the number of months we breast fed our kids, the length of our hair, or the income we earn.

I’m here to tell you: YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH!!!! No matter what your Mama told you, how your last husband treated you, how many “wrong things” you think you did, how heavy you are, how many scars you have, how many times you failed… YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH. God loves you JUST THE WAY YOU ARE. RIGHT NOW. And His love covers your past, covers the molestation, the bad break-ups, the abuse, the lies, the negative comments, the thoughts of inferiority. His love is BIGGER.

When you walk into a room, better than a super hero, you are backed by the acceptance of a God who thought you were important enough to die for. Knowing this should make you hold your head up. Should make you wear a perpetual smile, radiate the beauty of acceptance. Should make you stand tall. Should make you look each obstacle in the eye and tackle it with ease.

Sure, we can all stand to grow. It is imperative that we spend time in the Word daily to constantly improve and become more and more like Christ, but know, that right now, you are already good enough. You are worthy.

I pray that today and every day, you understand your value and how much you are SO loved. I pray that you wear your crown of royalty, that you glide down your runways with grace and poise, that you EXUDE the confidence of a beauty queen and radiate like the royalty you are!!! If the maker of the universe accepts and loves you… who cares what ANY one else has to say about it…

photo: Washington Examiner