~The Essence of Beauty~

“The desire to be beautiful is an ageless longing. My friend Lilly is in her mid-eighties. As she descended the stairs of her home one Christmas season, I was captured by her beauty. She was wearing a green corduroy jumper with a white turtleneck that had little candy canes all over it. I said, “Lilly, you look lovely!” Her face lit up, wrinkles and age spots disappearing as she put her hands out at her sides like a ballerina and did a delightful little twirl. She was no longer eighty – she was ageless” ~Stasi Eldredge

 Now my own Little Lady adorns herself in her pink princess dress with layers of taffeta, netting, and overlaid with fuchsia lace with small flowers around the neckline. Pink satin ribbon bows grace the shoulders and chest. Tiny glittered high heeled shoes with 3 colored pearls and a bow on each that fit her little feet to perfection. So long she has wanted shoes that ‘clack’ when she walks.

She stood in front of the full length mirror and very sweetly swayed back and forth, then a full twirl around once, then twice, then twice more.

I then think of those ‘Oh so special’ occasions when I myself stand in front of the mirror and curl my hair in pretty ringlets and swoop it up with sparkling clips. Taking time to paint my face using three colors of eye shadow instead of just slopping on one, then I get to slip into the dress that I had purchased months ago anticipating the loveliness of the night. It’s been hanging covered in my closet and I would peek at it every now and again and feel its beauty. Finally! My favorite part, I add the finishing touches with my adored jewelry. Tonight will be treasured earrings from my Great-Great Aunt Amelia.

The highlight of the evening will not be the tables set with elegance nor the serenading music. It won’t be the festive decorations or the fancy food.

The delight will be in seeing all the Beautiful women taking a ‘time out’ from everyday life and playing real life dress up. What fun we have feeling Beautiful and enjoying the Beauty of the women around us.

 Every woman longs to be beautiful no matter her age. We buy fitness magazines, we make our New Years resolutions year after year to eat healthy and stay on our exercise plan. We are forever worried that our breasts are too small, our thighs have too much ‘cottage cheese’ on them, our bottom is too flat, too fat, too saggy and the list goes on… The women we compare ourselves with are smeared on billboards, television, and magazines of what the world sees as beauty, and so in turn we strive to be like them, cutting out carbs and parking far out at the grocery store for the few extra steps. (Then we regret it when the cart is overflowing and the kids are starving.)

We want to be adored, admired and desired. We want to feel Beautiful like when we were 4 swaying in front of the mirror and didn’t know there were others to compare ourselves with.

There is another kind of Beauty we long for that is not found in stunning ball gowns and glass slippers but rather the Beauty that flows from the essence of our very soul that makes us who we are as women. How beautiful womanhood is when we sit in front of that same mirror and brush out the tangles of impatience, spread replenishing cream over our hurts and anger, and spray sweet smelling fragrance on the words we will speak today.

Then as others gaze at our refection may they see the Beauty of our hearts glowing as pretty as our outward jewels. Only is a little girl truly Beautiful when her attitude is as pretty inside as her dress up clothes are outside. Therefore we continue to tell our little ones as well as take heed ourselves ‘Pretty Is as Pretty Does’… ~Lindsey