True Beauty

I was listening to a podcast the other day, and they said that recently the clothing company H&M admitted to using computer generated people to showcase their clothes in advertisements.  Why?  Because real human bodies, the kind they want to showcase their clothes in don't exist!  I've seen several video-shorts where they show how every cover model is airbrushed, erasing wrinkles, cellulite, whitening teeth, slimming down parts of the face.  Image is everything and in a world where everything is digital, nothing seems to be real anymore.

I want to be someone who measures beauty the way God sees it, by studying the character of the people around me.  By seeing the generosity and joy of the women around me; their beauty comes from within and makes me more beautiful too by how accepted I feel when I'm with them.

Let me tell you a story about one of my dear friends.  Last night I got a text from her asking "does anyone want this Clinique eyeshadow kit?"  She is a mother of four, with a newborn currently at home.  When it gets quiet at her house I'm sure she enjoys that moment.  Well this day, the quiet in her home meant that her three year old daughter started painting her face with mommy's new eyeshadow pallet.  The one she was going to return because she got it as a gift and she doesn't wear eye makeup.  Since she now couldn't return it, she decided to regift it to one of her friends, as it was basically brand new.

It occurred to me when reflecting on her story, that I'd never really noticed before that she didn't wear makeup.  Don't get me wrong--she is very physically beautiful.  You know the type--cute clothes, stylish haircut, great skin tone, keeps active by running (and not just after the four kids).  But what struck me is that I've never noticed how much makeup she wears because of the beauty that emanates from the inside and how she makes me feel when I'm around her.  She has a gentle spirit, is a great listener, generous and thoughtful, and will help anyone with anything they need.  She trusts in her husband and makes time with people a priority.  She spends time reading God's word and is thoughtful in how it is shaping her life.  She is active in her neighborhood in building relationships and getting to know her kid's friends parents.  She prioritizes her family and their needs.  She is great to go to the spa with or meet out for dessert.  And she doesn't wear eye makeup because she doesn't have too.

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.  
--Proverbs 30:20

My daughter is 10 going on 13 right now.  She wears glasses and hates them because she thinks they make her look ugly.  She spends all her extra money on nail polish and asked for a makeup kit to "play" with at home for Christmas.  She is hyper-sensitive to how she is looking on the outside as kids are beginning to notice and judge others based on these things.  With the images that surround her like the H&M models I mentioned earlier, it is an impossible standard to measure up to.

My wish for her, and for all of you reading this today, is that we as women that love Jesus start cultivating our character instead of relying on our looks to make us beautiful.  I want to be a safe place for people, one who rests in the devoted love of Christ more than how much my outfits are Pinterest worthy.  Who can model for my daughter and call out in my friends the quiet grace of a heart tuned into her Savior.  One who embodies a security of divine acceptance that can never be taken away, no matter how many wrinkles I have.

So thank you sweet Vicki, for the new eyeshadow, and for being the kind of woman I want to be more like.