So Pretty

We don't routinely tell our girls that they're pretty.

Is that horrible?

It's nothing that Bill and I set out to do before we became parents.  It just doesn't happen.  We tell them we love them - constantly.  We fondly call them buddy (guess who calls them that?), sweetheart, and lots and lots of variations of their names.  I'm sure we've commented on how they look in their little lives - but it's hardly our focus.

The other day, Isabella had on a princess gown and tiara with magic wand in hand.  She was prancing around the house declaring in a sing-song voice,

I'm so pretty.  I am SO pretty.

At three years old, she has more confidence than I have in my little pinky.

I don't want her to lose that - ever.  I want her to wrap herself in His Love that is unconditional and never-ending.  There is no one on this earth that is like Isabella - and if you've met her, you know exactly what I mean.  She is a spitfire of energy wrapped up in a little body - full of so much emotion.

In that moment, when she claimed her beauty - I thought,

Yes!  Yes, you are!

 She is beautiful because He created her in His image.

She is beautiful because there is no one else like her.

She is beautiful because He has a path for her life that is greater
than anything we as her parents could plan out out for her.

She is beautiful because of Him.

Our culture will have plenty to share with our girls in terms of what they look like.

Society will tell them that they're

not tall enough

too short

not thin enough

too fat

not light enough

too dark.

The media will demand that 

that their eyes are too close together

that their nose is turned just so

that their chest is too small

that their hair is too coarse.

Our hope as their parents is to battle against what our culture would have them believe - to instill in them the source of their true beauty.  Perhaps along the way,
their momma will be reminded of hers.

Will you be reminded of yours?

You are beautiful because He created you in His image.

You are beautiful because there is no one else like you.

You are beautiful because He has a path for your life that is greater
than anything you can plan out for yourself.

You are beautiful because of Him.

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.  Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

I Peter 3:3-4