all things beautiful

Some time ago, I met a very beautiful woman. I was at a dinner with my parents and some family friends and a couple from Germany. Almost immediately, I was struck by how beautiful this German woman was. She had lovely gray-white hair and beautiful, kind eyes with so many gorgeous wrinkles around them. There on her face, I saw written a lifetime of joys and sorrows. Lines from smiles and laughs as well as lines etched there by pain and grief. I know very little about this woman, just a meal's worth of stories, but studying her face, I leaned over and whispered to my mom how beautiful this woman was. 

Even as I thought this, I was struck by how this woman would not even come close to fitting the societal norm of beauty. Our society wants to say that to be beautiful means a flawless complexion, a perfect size whatever frame, and hair that is rich in color. And yes, that may be beautiful for a season, but let me tell you what real, true beauty looks like. 

Beauty is in stretch marks marring a woman's flawless skin because she cared more about giving life to a child than about what her skin looks like. It is in the sacrifice of allowing her body to change and grow as she nourishes a soul with a body inside of her. 

Beauty is in soft, curly, completely white hair that grew in after chemotherapy treatments were over. It is in the sacrifice of going through such pain to fight to live for her family when she was ready to go long before they were willing to let her. It is in a radiant smile below those curls as she looks at her children and grandchildren in love that conquers all, knowing that is her greatest achievement and legacy. 

Beauty is in the winkles around eyes and lining a forehead that show the many smiles and laughs that have filled her life. It is not flawless, but eloquently, perfectly speaking of love and joy that bubbled over into lives around her; speaking life in the language of laughter.

Beauty is in every single shape and size from curvy to svelte, from tiny to sturdy. A woman's size and shape do not determine her beauty because all body types are beautiful.  


Beauty is everywhere to be found if we will merely look for it instead of restricting it to a specific definition. We don't need to become more confident about what our bodies look like. We need to redefine what beauty truly is. And the bottom line is that we don't determine what beauty is. The Creator of all things is the only one who gets to determine that, and His answer is that He makes all things beautiful.

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