Looking Good

Looking your best just isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. I mean if I fix my hair, put on my make-up and wear stylish clothing all the time – when people stop by to visit me on a Saturday morning before I shower, they will not even recognize me. Sometimes we women spend too much time working on our outward appearance and forget to notice our inner beauty.
I give myself one day a week when I’m simply good enough - in the raw. I don’t walk around naked, but on that day I let me - be me. I shower and brush my teeth but everything else goes ‘el natural. No make-up, no hair style, no uncomfortable clothing. I love my Good Enough Day. I look forward to my Good Enough Day. I don’t even leave the house unless it’s on fire. I try not to do anything I have to do. Instead I find activities that replenish and refresh my soul. This is my “fill the well” day. For I have learned that I can’t water a garden of souls if my own source of water is dry.
People who obsess about how they appear to others always seem stiff and fake, like they’re afraid their make-up will crack or the wind might blow their hair out of place. They hardly notice you when you speak to them because they are too busy posing. Gosh can’t we women just get over ourselves? Why is it that we are often so self-absorbed about the way we look? Why don’t we take a closer look at who we are on the inside . . . and I don’t mean our gall bladders. How about the capacity of our hearts to appreciate God’s blessings or the depths of our compassion for others?
Inside every stiff self-conscious woman is a child who begs to be set free. Remember dancing in the front yard in your new petticoat? Remember rolling in the sand and digging in the dirt without worrying about ruining your clothes? Remember how the wind used to feel in your hair before you starting worrying about whether or not your hairspray was going to hold up?
The point is – we have been given a glorious beautiful woman’s body. We can give birth to new human beings and provide their entire food supply for months. We can snuggle with our husband at night and cuddle with our children during the day. We are soft with round curves for a reason. Shouldn’t we be grateful for arms that hug, lips that kiss and tummies that are soft enough to be a pillow for someone’s head. If we have ears that can hear and legs that can move, shouldn’t we be dancing? Shouldn’t we delight in the wonder of being a woman?
Why do we mature females waste so much time complaining about our weight or our hair turning gray? It’s not shameful for our bodies to demonstrate that we enjoy eating or that we are getting older and wiser. Perhaps the real shame is our ingratitude for the unique and incredible mind and body God gave us. There are cultures in the world where it is considered beautiful to have a large heavy ring in your nose. So it’s past time to re-examine and stop accepting our culture’s narrow definition of beauty.
There is a light that comes to a woman’s countenance when she lets go of self absorption. Truly looking good - is being good and that only happens when we feel gratitude for the wonderful woman’s body, mind and soul we have been given - then choose to share our light and love with all those around us.