Beauty

1 Peter 3:3-4

Do not let your adorning be external–the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear, 

but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

Just throwing this out there: I have with insecurities concerning my body image. My mom did so I simply followed her example. Much of the world’s focus is on how beautiful we are. If you find favor in the eyes of the world…if you turns heads…then you are a winner. Only there is no prize.

In all honesty, we owe the world nothing, absolutely nothing, in that respect. 

It’s no secret that I’ve battled with my weight all through life. More than once I’ve lost only to gain again. I am currently carrying some extra weight. Am I happy about it? No way. For one, it makes me weak and that’s something I detest. When I tell my body to do something, I want it to do it. And I want it to do it with ease and with grace.

I’ve spent (wasted) much time trying to look perfect for others. I never reached my level of perfection so I never gave up trying. By others I mean strangers I meet at the grocery store or gas station. Wherever.

Why did I feel that it was my responsibility to please the world with how I looked?

Perhaps I felt I had to compensate for how I viewed my inner person. That too is a place of great turmoil. So maybe it was just easier to spend more time on my outward appearance than work on my inner issues. 

D and I love to go to summer concerts. We absolutely love music. D is a dancer. He’s out there, man. He’s out there on the dance floor having the time of his life. But not me.

A couple of weeks ago my sister and my daughter, Charlie, came to visit us for a week. We had a dance-a-thon in my living room and kitchen. Of course I say, “I’m not dancing”.

I dance in my kitchen, alone. I don’t want to dance in front of anyone. That would be shameful and embarrassing. Remember what I said earlier? If I tell my body to do something I want it to do it with ease and gracefully. Well, I’m not there.

The night we had the dance-a-thon I was sitting there like a lump after turning D down…again. Sweet Charlie spoke to me from across the kitchen table.

“Mom, if a man looked at me the way D looks at you, I’d get up and dance with him.” 

So I got up and I danced with him. And we danced the night away.

All of us had the best time. Me included. I will never forget what Charlie said.

Then another night we danced at an outdoor concert. The lead singer even stopped singing and called us out. He called D, Kris Kristofferson, and me, Emmy Lou Harris. It was pretty funny. And then a few days later we danced at an outdoor karaoke event. 

Even though I feel yucky, unworthy, and unloveable outside (and in), D sees beautiful. And it took Charlie to get me to realize that.

What is most important is what is on the inside. I may not appreciate the outer me, but when I thought about the people who actually want to be around me, well…that spoke volumes. They look past the skin to my heart and love me anyway, even with my shortcomings. 

So how does God look at us? Is he interested in how we adorn ourselves on the outside? Not so much. He looks at our soul.

Our face, our character, our demeanor, our speech will reflect what is in our heart. And if it’s godly, that’s what truly makes us beautiful.

You are deeply blessed when you have people who want to be near you simply because of who you are. ♥️

Andi