hey there & happy tuesday morning! I hope you had a very happy week full of love & memories. this is a bit of a vulnerable post today - thank you for being here & making a safe space for me! if you enjoy my content, please make sure that you are subscribed to get weekly updates straight to your inbox:
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the dove · ansley claire’s editor’s letter · april-june 2026
last night, I cried while getting ready for bed.
yesterday morning, I cried while getting ready for the day.
in the past two months, I don’t remember the last time I looked in the mirror & actually saw myself; the last time I felt pretty; the last time I was excited to go out of the house without doubting my clothing choices or the way I looked to those who would look at me.
I know am beautiful, but recently, it’s been hard to see my own beauty clearly.
it’s exhausting & oh so confusing: questioning my ever-so fluctuating worth according to the mirror.
the mirror is cruel. the mirror holds so much power. the mirror often brings me to tears.
actually, the woman who looks back at me in the mirror is pretending to be cruel. she looks through the other side with confusion, with a criticizing eye, & even, with fear, the fear of not being accepted when she steps away from her mirror hiding place. the woman in the mirror is neither selfless nor humble. she is hungry for perfection. she says she knows the truth of God’s Word, & yet, where is the fruit when it comes to applying said truth to all of her, not just the inside parts?
the woman in the mirror is me, but I am also the woman outside of the mirror.
the woman outside of the mirror is scared to look in it for she has been abused by it one too many times. she has allowed it to hold so much power over her. like a puppet, she is being ruled by what it thinks of her day to day. the woman outside of the mirror wrestles & wrestles & wrestles tirelessly with the knowledge that she is fully known & fully loved by God, that her appearance is God’s own beautiful craftsmanship, but she does not fully love herself physically every day. this makes the woman outside of the mirror feel guilty. it makes her associate her worth with the woman inside the mirror, but who told her to do that? who told her she was naked?
in Genesis 3, when Adam & Eve were deceived by the snake & had their eyes opened to the reality of sin by the eating of the forbidden fruit, they ran & hid from the Lord - their friend who created them & walked with them. they traded living in perfect harmony with Him in His original design for mankind (drenching our world & His creations in His uninterrupted peace, beauty, & love so that we would, thus, in turn, worship Him & give Him the glory for all of our days) for living in their own version of perfection (themselves being perfect & perfected in His knowledge).
“the man said, ‘I was afraid, because I was naked, & I hid myself.’ The Lord said, ‘Who told you that you were naked?’” - Genesis 3:11
the enemy convinced me to eat too - of the fruit of insecurity & self-hatred. he made me get so comfortable eating this death-rooted fruit that the more I grew closer with the Lord & the more He manifested Himself to me, the more I became confused with myself & uncomfortable with the mirror - battling to see myself the way the Lord sees me, but failing time & time again because the enemy is still trying to force feed his loud lies to me.
a bitter taste has grown in my mouth & as the fruit goes down, as I still sometimes eat of the fruit even though my faith is actively growing, my stomach turns to acid now. the Lord is burning off my taste buds for this fruit with His Refiner’s fire.
the enemy told me I was naked. the enemy told me my worth was only to be placed in what the woman in the mirror thinks of me & that my identity was only to be placed in being the woman outside of the mirror - to be okay being on the receiving end of striving for physical perfection & getting berated by him when I am not up to culture’s standards. (spoiler alert: culture’s “standards” change constantly, keeping up with its trends is poisoning you, & it in no way holds a candle to what the Lord’s sweet design for His children is for He is everlasting to everlasting).
what happens when you know you’re made in God’s image, but can’t help but cry when you get dressed?
where is the reconciliation in your mind for being gentle with/kind to yourself, feeling pretty, & truly believing with your whole heart that God created you wonderfully?
(mind you, these are both questions I am still asking the Lord).
this is what I’d like to call suffering from impostor syndrome of the mirror.
a spiritual warfare of the mirror: when the enemy is attacking your mental perspective of your physical appearance - to confuse you, to make you believe you are less than, to make you want to change to fit the world’s mold, to hurt your feelings, to push you away from the truth of God, to make you cry as you get dressed, to make you cry as you get undressed.
realizing this should make you angry!!!!! the enemy has taken your perspective of your own loveliness & distorted it!!!!
the only way to battle impostor syndrome of the mirror is to tell the enemy that he is naked.
his patterns of evil can only work on you for so long because of the authority you carry in the Holy Spirit - don’t let him continue, strip him of this booming voice that carries through your mirror, make him hide in his nakedness. repent & remind yourself, every hour on the hour if that’s what it takes, to not to eat the fruit of insecurity & self-hatred but to feast on the Lord’s daily bread.
even further, let the Lord’s voice be louder than your own when you look in the mirror. shout Psalm 139 from the rooftops! or read it to yourself gently. Jesus fought His battles against evil with the Truth. He has given us His perfect knowledge in His Word - you do not have to search Him to know how highly He thinks of you, how beautiful He beholds you, how flawless you are to His heart. it’s not about what you think or feel when you look in the mirror on any given day, but it is about who He says you are & whose you are.
sweet friend, you are not alone in this feeling. the Lord is closer to you than you could possibly comprehend & He is aching for you to turn to Him so that He can teach you how to look in the mirror with eyes full of love for yourself because of how much you love Him & know His heart for you!!!!!!!
He says that I am beautiful. He says you are beautiful. it’s that simple & sweet.
for you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. my frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
- Psalm 139:13-16
little, practical things to help you battle impostor syndrome of the mirror: pray constantly in honesty about this complex feeling you feel when you look at yourself, write Scripture on any reflective mirror or on your hand or make it your phone background so you never forget what He says about you (which is very different from the lies you’ve been believing - I hope you realize that), verbally say 3 things you love about your physical appearance before you leave the house, remind yourself that this is not the most important thing about you, literally every second of the day speak the name of Jesus over your mind, put down your phone because it’s driving your self image crazy. if you have more tips, please pop them in the comments below!
a recommended read or two from another sweet writer on a similar topic:
the dove dispatch!!!! things I’ve been loving & consuming:
still on my pb & j kick! loving organic peanut butter from a local whole food grocery store - it’s just a little bit crunchy & so yum!
having a cute tray placed at the end of my made bed with my devotionals, a little flower vase, my favorite L’Occitane shea butter hand cream ($29), & lip balm. it’s my new favorite part of my night routine! feels like a hotel turndown service.
the Bath & Body Works my favorite night lip balm ($8.95) - an overnight lip mask that is truly so moisturizing! this was an Elyse recommendation & I am hooked.
a recent book I loved: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans - this novel is stunningly sweet, & all I've been thinking about for the past several days is having a pen pal so I can honor Sybil in bringing the lost art of letter writing back. I loved each character that graced the pages with their words! what an experience!
THESE pastel, ruffle socks by Antro ($28 for a three pack)! literally my favorite socks - they are so comfy & so on trend for the summer.
until next time & with love,
ansley claire
I believe that everyone should have access to encouragement from a sister in Christ, so Tuesday Mornings is, & will stay, a free publication. however, if you feel led to support my Kingdom work with a little treat:
a prayer request: just that we all pray Psalm 139 & other verses of Truth over ourselves & each other as July is in full swing!!!!!
thank you all so much for the safe space you have given me on this platform to be vulnerable & honest - means the world to me & I love y’all so dearly!
the prayer mailbox (in progress!) is a quiet place for you to leave a prayer. I’ll be reading each one of them & holding them in prayer with you. some prayers are meant to be shared & held. if you feel lead, the mailbox is open (for now, you can leave a prayer in the comments or email me 💌 strongansleyclaire@gmail.com).
tuesday mornings is like the weekly news, but the news of an ordinary girl who writes about what the extraordinary God of the universe has done in her life!
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also, pretty please tell me your thoughts about this post, what you’re learning in your faith walk, or just whatever is on your mind - I pinky promise I want to know!
I hope each of you has a very happy rest of the week! praying for you! peace! thank you for being here & I hope to see you again soon! 🕊️ I love you so much & so does Jesus Christ!
“therefore, encourage one another & build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” - 1st Thessalonians 5:11
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