Love this post, Katy, and I can relate to feeling self-conscious. But I would never have guessed you struggled with thoughts like this, because you strike me as someone who has a strong sense of purpose and wants to serve The Lord with her life - and you do! Thanks for always being such an encouragement to me - I know God has used you in my life just through your blog! :-)

So far as I can tell, your feelings are VERY common for women. Can't speak for men, but maybe you could ask your hubby whether men struggle so much with these issues. Women are designed for relationships in a way that men were not, so I suspect this makes us more likely to compare ourselves with others in ways that are not Christ-like!
Recently I was complaining to my hubby that I couldn't find a Bible study that I found challenging and soaked in Scripture, and so he challenged me to do my own. So, I have started the ground work, and as I feel that before we can even start to understand ourselves, we must understand who God is, I have been looking at His divine attributes - what He is, and it has left me in awe - He is amazing - and yet, He loves us - He chose us to bear His image - we can't be rubbish then! So, that would bring me to a verse for you to combat the lies we often entertain... What about: So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them - Genesis 1 v 27 - not the verse one would automatically think of, but it has a lot of meaning in it, doesn't it? =)
In Him,
Betsy

I really love this post! I can sympathize with you on never feeling satisfied with your appearance. I think we would both be shocked if we saw ourselves the way our husbands see us. I am so happy you are finding peace and learning to accept who you are! May God bless you and keep reminding you that you are His wonderful creation :) Love ya!

Growing up I hated myself. I mean, everything about me was awful in my eyes - the way I looked, dressed, behaved, etc. At school I was the one to be teased ALL THE TIME. I didn't have any friends, so the other kids made even more fun of me for talking to my cats (and sometimes to myself, in public). It was a vicious circle of rejection and stepping out of social situations. I can't tell you how many nights I cried and prayed to God that he would just kill me - at 8 years old, mind you. In my teens, I was angry at God. REALLY angry. I hated him (there, I said it!). And then, in my late teens/early twenties, I just didn't care anymore. God and I had nothing to do with each other. I lived my life, and he did his thing. I wasn't angry anymore, I just didn't care.
The last few years, however, we've been talking again. We discussed it in detail, I told him what I thought, and he shared some of his thoughts. Right now I can say that we get along pretty well. I still haven't understood some of the things in the past, and we have a lot more work ahead of us, but I think it's going to be ok.
Point I'm making is that this is a dynamic relationship. You will change as you grow older, you will see things with different eyes. A relationship with God is very much like the relationship with your parents - you don't always agree, or see things their way, and when you're small, they are your heroes, and then times will come when you think everything they do is wrong, and then you will mature some more and understand them. But in the end, no matter what happens between you, there is always love, and that's what matters most (aka 1 Cor 13:13).

And here I was thinking you look like Jewel Staite. It's amazing how differently we perceive ourselves than others!