I was the ‘soap and water girl’ but much to my dismay, a year ago due to some skin allergies I had to start paying attention to my face cleansing process. In a turn of events, the doctor and a friend suggested that I follow a skincare routine and use certain products. I must be honest that I was absolutely against the idea, but then my friend said I should try it for a few months, see the difference, and then decide. So, I did!
I ordered the required products and started with a morning and night routine: face wash, toner, serum, sunscreen lotion, and something similar for the night. The first few weeks seemed pointless and cumbersome because I had to consciously plan and place the routine. However, with the hope of seeing the results, I stuck to it. I plugged it into a routine, and I followed it. I knew there was one thing I needed: consistency.
After a month, my husband and my friend said they could see a difference but I really could not. Nevertheless, I continued the routine because I wanted to focus on consistency and skipping it made me uncomfortable. Six months down the line, I can now see a difference but not as much as I would have liked.
The most amazing part of this whole experience is how the Lord has used the build toward consistency in my skincare routine to reveal the importance of daily meditation on His Word. I struggle with consistency in my daily devotions and often after a week or month of daily meditation, I lose track and slide into days or weeks of not reading or praying. But while I was trying to build consistency with my skincare, God was revealing certain things about my time with Him. So here are some of the points God has been teaching me through this experience.
1. Slot in a time and stick to it
When no specific time is clocked in for God’s word, it is so easy to skip it. But when you clock in a time or schedule, it becomes easier to follow it. Like my skin care routine which happens every morning after bathing and evening before bed sitting down to read the Word and to pray is easier when we have it slotted in. Setting aside time as a conscious part of your routine will make room for Him and prevent us from being interrupted by other work.
2. There are no shortcuts to building a loving relationship
Building a robust routine with the Lord in prayer and meditation is not something that can be done in a day. This is something one must build over the years. Sitting together with the Lord daily is not a ritual that needs to be finished like a checklist, rather it is an expression of our love and commitment to Him and of our constant need for Him. Skincare experts suggest that we should wear sunscreen on our skin several times a day to protect ourselves from the harshness of the sun. In this world where there is so much harshness, it does us good to soak ourselves in His Word continuously without shortcuts.
3. The change will not go unnoticed
When my husband told me that my skin had improved, I was so thrilled. I couldn’t see it myself, but I was excited that the efforts were paying off. Similarly, when a friend from college commented that I had grown closer to God since my college years I felt a surge of excitement because it encouraged me that my growing relationship with the Lord was not going unnoticed as well. When we truly live by the Word and the Spirit, it will reflect in and through us. If people can notice weight loss and improvement in our skin then they will also see Christ living in us (Gal 2:20, Rom 12:2, Phil 1:6).
4. The joy along the way
Initially, when I started with the skincare routine, I was only working towards the results. While the results are important and indicative of the success of the process, I also began to enjoy the process itself. The ritual brings joy and is a reminder to me that every little step adds to the goal. Our Christian life is not just aimed at reaching heaven. The journey and the pleasure in our little steps with God add to our joy along the way. The daily reading of the Word, soaking in prayer and fellowship with our brothers and sisters are all small steps that add to the joy of growing in faith in Him.
5. Becoming Christlike
My sister sent me an old picture of us from our school days. I looked at myself in the picture and realised that no matter what skincare routine I undertook, I would never look like how I did then. My hair is beginning to grey and while I can colour it I cannot undo the greying process. I can slow down the wrinkles, but they will eventually show up. The good news is that growing in the Lord is nothing like this. As David Mathis writes, “Though seemingly normal and routine, the everyday “habits of grace” we cultivate give us access to these God-designed channels through which his love and power flow — including the greatest joy of all: knowing and enjoying Jesus.” Even as I write this, I must mention that my discipline with the Word is not all sorted out. It is an ongoing process with a few steps forward and a few steps behind. But God in all His grace and mercy has not left me and has even used my skincare routine to remind me of my need for Him and His Word. Now that revelation, through a skincare routine was the best part of the whole deal!
By Ishnita Nayantara Keskar
Originally published in : https://www.indiaanya.com/2023/03/14/five-things-god-showed-me-through-a-skincare-routine/
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