beauty

My children apparently took after their father in that they think they simply MUST get out of bed as soon as their little eyes pop open. UGH.

I fear I wounded my daughter’s ego a tiny bit this morning because of our differences in internal clocks.

We don’t leave for pre-k until 8am. I’m not keen on having to wake earlier than 7. At 6:30 this morning, however, Sweet Pea comes skipping (what is WRONG with anyone who skips at that hour?!?!) into our bedroom…fully dressed including shoes…to ask me to turn on the light so I can see how cute she looks. Really.

Unfortunately, my reaction was far from the affirmation she was requesting. I regret that now and plan to do my best to make up for it when I see her later. Because once I was more fully awake, turned on the light and had enjoyed my requisite cups of coffee…sure enough. She looked incredibly cute. And if I looked so adorable, I’d probably want someone to tell me so.

The thing is…it’s a really tough balance instilling self-confidence in a youngster while driving home the point that beauty is, as my mom used to remind me, more than skin (or darling new outfit) deep.

A couple of weeks ago I was in the kids’ room saying bedtime prayers with them when I was flabbergasted to hear Sweet Pea’s sincere “Thank you, God, for making me so beautiful.” That’s what she wanted to tell God. And my first instinct was to squelch that apparent vanity and superficial gratitude. But why? Why can’t she be thankful that she’s beautiful? If I’ve done my job well, she isn’t seeing “beautiful” as just pretty hair, big brown eyes, flawless skin. I hope she sees herself as the “beautifully” kind, generous, compassionate child of God I see when I look at her (most of the time).

I’m currently teaching Beth Moore’s Esther: It’s Tough Being a Woman on Friday mornings. We’re hearing a lot about Esther’s beauty: the physical beauty that everyone in Persia could readily see and (most importantly) the beauty of her heart…the openness to God’s will…the simple approach that set her apart from the other pretty girls brought before King Xerxes.

There has been much hullabaloo recently over the Ralph Lauren advertisement that severely edited a female model into an emaciated body that looked barely sturdy enough to hold up its head! I hate the fact that I’m raising a daughter in a world that sees beauty through such a narrowly focused lens. I try very hard to keep my own “I’m so fat” self-talk out of her earshot. I don’t want those concepts affecting her right now (or ever…but I’m not that naive).

I hope she grows up to be a radiantly beautiful young woman. Beautiful, like Queen Esther,  in all the RIGHT ways. For that I, too, will loudly thank God. I may even jump out of bed at some decidedly ungodly hour to do so.

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Tagged as: beauty, body image, character, confidence, esther, gratitude, pretty, self image, sweet pea

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