Sometimes it seems to me that girls on the Internet are afraid to show their true selves. I'm not talking about appearance - I actually think that there is a lot of beauty in the authenticity of appearance. I'm talking about that other part. Where instead of a photo in underwear, there is a photo of you reading in silence or feeding the homeless. Where the description doesn't say "I love parties and Prosecco", but "I pray for those I love", "I'm looking for a person with whom I can live my life without playing a role".

When I surf the Internet, I sometimes feel sad. So much beauty, but such fuss. Lots of body, little spirit. It's as if we ourselves have forgotten that we can be something more than just an object of desire. That we are daughters of God, and this already gives us dignity that does not need to be proven.

I am not perfect - I also recognize myself in this system. And I also caught myself thinking: "What if he scrolls past if there is nothing catchy?" But here's what's interesting: when I started praying for a future husband (yes, I do this - maybe you do it for a wife too?), I noticed that my prayers were not for him to be handsome, successful, or even smart. I asked God for a man who would understand that love is a gift. Who is not afraid to be vulnerable. Who wants a family not as a status, but as a calling.

And then it occurred to me: how will he find me if I look like anyone online, but not the one I am praying for? If I look like I am looking for attention, not understanding? As if I'm afraid to be myself, because "the real me" is too quiet and too simple?

I guess I'd like us women to change our vector a little. Not to please someone, not out of fear. But because when you have God in your life, you no longer want to be a mirror of other people's expectations. You want to be yourself - real, deep, the one you became in the silence of prayer and among the joys and difficulties of life. And if this light becomes visible - won't a man who is truly searching see it?

I'm not against a photo in a beautiful dress or with a sweet smile. But let there be a story behind this smile - not from illusions, but from the heart. Let there be a soul, and not just a body. Let there be faith, even a quiet one. Because the soul - it attracts differently. Deeper. For a long time.

I sometimes think that when a man is looking for a wife - really looking - he is not looking for a picture, but a woman with whom he can pray next to. Who knows how to forgive and accept. Who knows how important it is not only to be loved, but also to love in return, and not when everything is good, but even when it is difficult. After all, love is not an emotion, it is a choice. It is a daily "yes" to each other. And without God it is so difficult to hold on to it.

Do you think it would have changed the way I see it, or would it have been different?

Lana Banana