My 5 year old loves to look at herself in the mirror.
She sneaks peeks at herself while sitting on her bed talking to me. She stops when she walks by the hall mirror, looks, flips her hair, and keeps on going. She will stand in the bathroom for long periods of time, dancing & looking, singing & looking, talking & looking.
In my eyes she is one of the most beautiful little girls in the whole.wide.world.
(It's a three-way tie.)
(It's a three-way tie.)
But I must confess,
I worry about the years to come. What will this beauty bring?
Will she always look in the mirror and see beauty?
Will she glorify her beauty at the expense of something more valuable ....
Like patience, joy, peace, or kindness?
Or, perhaps, will she detest her beauty, and long for something else ....
For sleek black hair and dark ember eyes?
For sleek black hair and dark ember eyes?
These are just some of the things that worry me about raising this little mirror-kissing-goddess.
Needing to feel beautiful is a God-given desire which distinguishes our feminine heart. We don't want to be admired exclusively for our outer beauty, nor do we want it dismissed. One without the other is not really who we are.
What we really long for is for someone to be enchanted with our entire being, our very essence.
I wonder if there is a way to help her find the real meaning of beauty,
Needing to feel beautiful is a God-given desire which distinguishes our feminine heart. We don't want to be admired exclusively for our outer beauty, nor do we want it dismissed. One without the other is not really who we are.
What we really long for is for someone to be enchanted with our entire being, our very essence.
I wonder if there is a way to help her find the real meaning of beauty,
long before the years of angst begin.
Before fashion magazines and teen peers and self-image woes.
Can I show her by the way I live, that
beauty is much more than a pretty face and designer clothes?
beauty is much more than a pretty face and designer clothes?
(Before she is much too cool for me)
Can I show her that beauty is all around....
in the tiny ladybug and the cloudless day.
in the smallest snowflake and the tallest trees.
in a multitude of words and the refuge of silence.
I will try to show her that beauty is...
in the loving way you hold the hurting.
in the loyalty of friendship.
in a smile to the discouraged.
in friendship to the friendless.
in the loving way you hold the hurting.
in the loyalty of friendship.
in a smile to the discouraged.
in friendship to the friendless.
in the warm acceptance of differences.
I pray she always knows, she is treasured, she is sacred, she is His. She is beautiful!
I pray she always knows, she is treasured, she is sacred, she is His. She is beautiful!
this is something it must be a lot of work for a mom to show her daughter. I got off the hook with boys it seems in this area...but as much as our true beauty is damaged by the world...we try to achieve this false sense of beauty.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm sure that God gave you what it takes to do the job...he gave you three BEAUTIFUL girls! And if they grow up to be anything like their momma, I'm sure they will be just fine!
girl I needed this ...so beautiful...I love this
ReplyDeleteCan I show her that beauty is all around....
in the tiny ladybug and the cloudless day.
in the smallest snowflake and the tallest trees.
in a multitude of words and the refuge of silence.
I will try to show her that beauty is...
in the loving way you hold the hurting.
in the loyalty of friendship.
in a smile to the discouraged.
in friendship to the friendless.
in the warm acceptance of differences.
Sooooo true. I'm going to put this somewhere where I can keep it and read it when I'm having self-image woes :) Love your guts