Monday, March 12, 2012

Inner Beauty

I have enough "fashion photo posts" backed up and ready for use to last me from now until summer, but let's take a time-out from photos for one post, and talk about inner beauty.

There are many spices and flavors in the cheerful pot of whatever it is that bubbles up and gives an inner glow. Many different characteristics combine to create true beauty. Happiness. Sweetness. Unselfishness. Knowing how to laugh at one's self. Energy. Knowledge as opposed to ignorance. Patience. Contentment. Can you list others?

Inner beauty is hard to dissect and analyze, but one thing I know; the fire which heats the pot that holds all these things, and causes their aroma to rise, is none other than the Holy Spirit. Everything is useless without Him. I've seen many beautiful unsaved girls, and several sweet, gentle, unsaved girls, but the sweetness is flat without the fire of the Holy Spirit giving warmth to a heart.

It is a wonderful thing that Christ should promise His presence to His children, living inside them and comforting them and guiding them. Nothing is so sweet as to know He is within us, with us at all times. If we really begin to understand that He is there, in control, and always right, it will change the very way we carry ourselves.

I think that comfort and trust is the key to creating beauty, because a truly beautiful woman is, above all, relaxed. She isn't frazzled, worried, stressed, hyper, or frantic. She isn't biting her nails, creating worry lines, or losing her beauty sleep.

I've had plenty of times to remind myself of that. One of my greatest faults is to "be anxious for everything," instead of letting the peace of God keep my heart and mind. It all boils down to "do I really trust Him to take care of things?" If the answer is yes - and is really, truly IS - then why do I think I must worry so?

Take some time today to think about how you appear to the world around you in this respect. Does your family see you as frazzled and frantic? Or do they see a calm radiance from within? The way you react to stresses in life says a lot about what you think of God. And it affects your looks at the same time.

It's almost bedtime for me. I'm going to try to wake up tomorrow rejoicing in the fact that God's got everything under control. I'm going to let my face relax, my lips smile, my eyes sparkle, and let God be God.

How about you?

2 comments:

  1. Hi Amber,

    I've really been enjoying your picture posts. It's kind of nice to see posts like that where the girl doesn't look like a supermodel whose life is totally pristine. :) It's just not very realistic and I think it tends to do more harm than good.

    All that said, I thought that this post was really great. It is always such a good reminder, because it is so easy to slip into thinking that we need to spend more time fixing our appearance than we do serving others with a joy-filled heart.

    It struck me as funny that you should talk about trust in God, because probably about the same time that you were writing this post, I was lying in bed thinking about the same issue. I was pondering little babies and the joy they bring. That led me to wonder why I at least receive so much enjoyment from babies. This led me to a great deal of thoughts, but one in particular struck me.

    One of the particular joys of holding a baby and (ahhhh) having it fall asleep in your arms seems to me to be the absolute trust the child is placing in you. That baby is so sure that you will protect it and keep it safe that it allows you to care for it in its most vulnerable state. I don't mean to carry this too far, but if we get so much joy and pleasure from receiving that trust, how much more must God rejoice for His people to put their child-like trust in His loving care.

    Sorry to have such a long rambling comment. :) Keep up the good work. Boy, I wish that I had a whole bunch of posts ready to go. I have several posts that I want to post, but I have yet to write them. Sigh...

    Amber (nee Lulu)

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  2. Thanks for your comment, Amber; it really blessed my heart. You are so right about the trust factor. Thanks for making me think about that in a new light.
    ...And just for the record, I don't have all those posts actually written! I just have a TON of photos still to use. :) :)

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