Elize About Faith

I spent over 20 years working in the beauty and wellness industry – an industry I had a deep love-hate relationship with, and one that ultimately weakened my faith in God. Today, I work in a Christian school, and the journey that led me here is something I feel called to share.

I want to begin honestly with what led me to walk away and surrender to Jesus.

Before my current role, I ran a small business for eight years. While that may sound like success, the truth is it struggled from the very beginning. Despite my efforts, it never truly worked. Looking back, I can now see there were many signs I shouldn’t have pursued it but I held on out of stubbornness and a desire to build something of my own.

When I started, my motivation wasn’t money or recognition. I wanted independence – control over my time, my work, and my life. But within eight months, the business began to falter. Still, I refused to let it go.

Around that same time, I became pregnant after seven years of trying. It was a blessing but if I’m honest, I also saw it as an interruption to my plans. Not long after my baby was born, I became pregnant again with my youngest child. I was grateful, yet also overwhelmed and frustrated. I was trying to hold onto something that wasn’t working, while God was clearly redirecting my life.

I couldn’t return to the business fully due to childcare and financial limitations. Then the pandemic hit, adding even more strain. Debt increased, stress built because of it, and yet I kept pushing forward – driven more by my own will than by any sense of God’s direction.

Somewhere along the way, my focus shifted.

I stopped asking, “God, what do You want?” and started asking, “How do I make this work?”

That quiet shift marked the beginning of a deeper spiritual problem.

When I first entered the beauty industry, I genuinely wanted to help others. But over time, I began relying on it to fulfill something within me. The environment constantly reinforced the idea that identity and worth are tied to appearance. Validation came through clients, social media, and image – not from God.

Gradually, I embraced a mindset of self-reliance. I began to believe that success depended on my mindset, my effort, and practices like mindfulness and self-love. While these ideas can seem harmless, in my life they slowly replaced trust in God. There was less room for surrender, prayer, and dependence on Him.

At the same time, I became desensitised to spiritual practices that conflicted with my faith. Things like tarot reading, crystal healing, chakra balancing, and energy work were normalised in the environment around me and I no longer questioned them the way I once would have.

Eventually, something in me became unsettled.

I felt a growing heaviness and a lack of peace I couldn’t ignore. What once felt normal no longer sat right in my spirit. It was as though I had drifted further than I ever intended.

Looking back now, I can see it clearly: what started as a career slowly became something that pulled my focus away from God. It encouraged self-focus over surrender, self-reliance over faith, and subtle influences that conflicted with what I believed.

But God, in His mercy, did not leave me there.

He allowed the struggles, the closed doors, and even the failures – not to punish me, but to redirect me. What I once saw as frustration, I now recognise as protection. What felt like loss was, in truth, an invitation to return to Him.

Scripture says:

“You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3)

Without realising it, I had allowed my work, my desires, and even subtle spiritual influences to take His place.

If you are in this industry or any environment where your focus has quietly shifted from God, I encourage you to pause and ask honestly: Where is my trust? Where do I seek peace, identity, and direction?

Because true peace is not found in self-improvement, control, or external validation. It is found in surrender to Christ.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Walking away is not easy. Letting go of something you’ve built – or something that has come to define you – rarely is easy to let go. But nothing compares to being aligned with God’s will.

He is faithful to lead you somewhere better – perhaps not easier or more glamorous, but deeper, steadier, and rooted in truth.

I share this not to condemn, but to encourage discernment. Guard your heart. Stay close to God in all your ways. Because no career, no identity, and no version of “wellness” and self-love is worth losing your soul and your eternal place with Jesus.

I want to share what scripture says about these things:

“Let no one be found among you… who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells… Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 18:10–12)

And again:
“Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them.” (Leviticus 19:31)

God reminds us:
“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment… Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit.” (1 Peter 3:3–4)