Incorruptible Beauty

The other day my husband asked our daughter if she would rather dress up like a princess or go out and play with her chickens (which she loves).  She pondered a minute. Finally she decided that she would rather dress up like a princess and go out and play with her chickens. Another time her daddy told her to go get dressed to ride the horse with him. She came out wearing a jean skirt. "You can't ride in a skirt," he told her. "But it's a cowgirl skirt," was her logical reply.

I am sure every single one of you remember dressing up like a princess! As a woman, being beautiful is at the core of our desires. John Eldredge writes in his book Wild at Heart:

“There are also three desires I find essential to the woman’s heart, which are not entirely different from a man’s and yet they remain distinctly feminine…every woman longs to be fought for…And her childhood dreams of a knight in shining armor coming to rescue her are not girlish fantasies; they are the core of the feminine heart and the life she knows she was made for…Every woman also wants an adventure to share…caught up into something greater than herself…And finally, every woman wants to have a beauty to unveil.” (19-20)

So, as adults, our endeavors of dressing up like princesses and fairies evolve into putting on makeup, dying and blow drying our hair and shaving our legs. How important is being beautiful to you? How much weight does it hold on how you carry out your day? Let's consider what the apostle Peter tells us:

Do not let your adornment be merely outward - arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel - rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. --1 Peter 3:3-4

Do you read that? Incorruptible beauty, isn't that what we are all searching for? Peter tells us that it is found in the hidden person of the heart by having a gentle and quiet spirit. Not only that, but God finds it beautiful too! So how do we find this hidden person? How do we have a gentle and quiet spirit? I would suggest that it comes from a woman saturated in the Word of God, from having the peace within that comes from trusting in God for her every worry and care. A woman who always responds a kind word and does not give in to anger easily. A woman who reflects the heart of God. This woman would be beautiful.

Today, let us not worry so much about our hair, makeup, clothes, or jewelry. Instead, let's use that same time spent to cultivate the inner beauty of our hearts.