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Beauty and "The Beast"




"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.


Instead, 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.”

--1 Peter 3:3&4


CJ decided to dress (and dress up) RJ2 this morning. It's one of those days that's looking like rain, which would put the girls inside for the day. So, why not have some fun early?!

When RJ2 came to the breakfast table, via scooter--of course--she made quite an entrance.


"Look at my ponies!!!" she said.

CJ was quite pleased. A tri-pony do with multiple layers of clips and colorful bands--woo, girl!!

It's funny how, as girls, we latch on to this notion that we need to dress ourselves up. But, we grow into that mode so easily, with dolls to dress and groom, fancy shoes and purses for special occasions, watching mom put on makeup. All that is the stuff of pure girly innocence! But there is a plethora of other enticing examples in this world in which beauty has been turned inside out, stretched and formed, fashioned and molded (and I'm speaking literally, in some cases!), modeled and flaunted.

* * *

A friend shared that a friend of hers recently took some hits for saying that her daughter enjoyed an afternoon of play with fairies, because fairies aren't the stuff to which young would-be Christian girls should be exposed.

(Whoa!)

What happens if we don't let our girls play and imagine, develop their voices, learn to speak to others, use their brains to create?

What happens if we don't let our girls play with their sister's hair, learn to share, to patiently sit for their ponies, to love on one another?

What happens if we don't teach our girls about true beauty and let "the Beast" that is the world and its marketing enterprise distort what is so simply and perfectly laid before them and within them?

The inner beauty of a gentle, quiet spirit is not formed on one Saturday morning in the "hair salon" or in one afternoon in the fairy village.

And God can use both these experiences--and many more to come--in developing the beauty he created and continually sees in His children.

Comments

Kelly said…
I remember when my Gigi was little, she came down one morning wearing pretend high heel shoes & curlers in her hair and says "I'm a mom!" What?? I don't wear my heels in the house, and I've NEVER worn curlers in my hair!! Yet somehow intuitively they know that dress up is fun stuff.

Who knows, CJ may grow up to be a hairdresser for the Lord, just like in our Biblestudy. :-)
May 16, 2009 at 10:34 AM
Leslie said…
This makes me smile:-) Over the years I've been told that I need a daughter and that I'm girly challenged because I can't do hair. If one my students hands me a hair clip that has fallen out of her hair, I am all thumbs trying to put it back in! I can't even do my own hair!

If Jesus is our King, aren't we His princesses? What is wrong with innocent pretend play?! I was playing some classical music during playtime yesterday, and one of my little girls was twirling around saying she was a ballerina and a princess. I was thinking, "You go girl!"
May 16, 2009 at 12:21 PM
The Patterson 5 said…
We love the girly dress up stuff over here! Just this weekend Beth was "dressed" for a dance and the leader put body glitter on her forehead as adornment! Beth was thrilled! I think God smiles on our femininity (sp?) He made us girls...His princesses, in fact!
May 17, 2009 at 10:52 PM
Beverlydru said…
Beautiful post, beautiful girl. You are such an encourager. I'm also a big believer in an active imagination. My favorite games as a child were simply acting out what was in my head. Toys weren't nearly as valuable as the dress-up box.
May 20, 2009 at 5:36 PM
Ellena Field said…
Hello mate great blog ppost
July 2, 2022 at 2:27 PM
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