"Sometimes, much to my amusement, I read in the magazines those comical letters that girls write to the beauty specialists. If these letters could all be put together into one, it would read something like this: "How am I to make myself pretty so that I shall be admired for my good looks? I want to be rid of all my blemishes, my freckles, my pug nose, my pimples, and my stringy hair. I would have my hands very white and shapely and tender, and I would be neither too fat nor too thin. Tell me, Miss Specialist, how to make myself beautiful." The wise man of old has answered this question in words that are most appropriate: "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised."
Every girl is a lover of beauty. Beautiful homes, beautiful furnishings, beautiful flowers, beautiful fruits, beautiful faces--anything wherein beauty is found, there will be found girls to admire it. From the time her little hands can reach up and her baby lips can lisp the words, she is admiring "pretty things". And when a little of that beauty is her own her delight is boundless.
A desire to be beautiful is not unwomanly. A woman who is not beautiful cannot properly fill her place. But, mark you, true beauty is not of the face, but of the soul. There is a beauty so deep and lasting that it will shine out of the homeliest face and make it pretty. This is the beauty to be first sought and admired. It is a quality of the mind and heart and is manifested in word and deed. A happy heart, a smiling face, loving words, and deeds, and a desire to be of service, will make any girl beautiful.
A desire to be pretty is not to be completely condemned. Beauty of face and form are not given to every one; but when they are present they may be a blessing, if they are used rightly. But a girl need not feel that her life is blighted if she lacks these things. The proper care of her person and dress will make an otherwise homely girl good looking. What is more distasteful than a slovenly, untidy woman! Her hair disheveled, her face and neck in need of soap and water, her dress in need of repair, her shoes scuffed, she presents a picture that indeed repels. Though she might have a kind heart and many other desirable qualities, yet her unkempt appearance hides them from view. But a person who always keeps herself tastefully and tidily dresses and her person clean and neat is attractive and pleasing. Her personal care only increases the charm of her personality. It is to be regretted if any girl lacks a felling of concern and shame should she be caught in careless and untidy dress. She should take pleasure in keeping herself presentable and attractive, not only when she goes out or receivers quests, but for the pleasure of her family as well. But when a girl paints and powders till she looks like an advertisement for cosmetics, she shows a foolish heart, which is not beautiful.
In the cloakroom of a certain school a question arose among some girls as to who had the most beautiful hands. The teacher listened to the girls thoughtfully. They compared hands and shared secrets of keeping them pretty, Amanda said that a girl could not keep perfect hands and wash dishes, or sweep. Marcia spoke of the evil effects of cold and wind and too much sunshine. Francis told of her favorite lotion. Phillipa spoke of proper manicuring. At last the teacher spoke.
"To my mind Jennifer Higgins has the most beautiful hands of any girl in school," she said quietly.
"Jennie Higgins!" exclaimed Amanda in amazement, "why her hands are rough and red and look as if she took no care of them. I never thought of them as beautiful."
"I have seen those hands carrying dainty food to the sick, and soothing the brow of the aged. She is her widowed mother's main help. She does the milking and carries the wood and water, yes, and washes dishes night and morning, that her mother may be saved the hard work. I have never known her to be too tired to speak kindly to her little sister and help her in her play. I have found those busy hands helping her brother with his kite. I tell you, I think they are the most beautiful hands I have ever seen, for they are always busy helping somewhere."
This is the beauty for which every should strive, the beauty that comes from unselfishness and usefulness. Beauty of face and form is secondary in importance, though not to be despised. If used properly, personal beauty is a good gift; but if it turns a girl's head it becomes a curse to her.
Think of such women who are well-known in Christian circles, who have lived noble lives, such as Susanna Wesley, Florence Nightingale, Amy Carmichael, or Corrie ten Boom, and consider whether you ever heard it discusses whether they were pretty or not. No one ever thinks of such trifles when speaking of those who are great if soul. It is the glamour girl or woman whose chief attraction is in face or form. Those articles in magazines that so exalt the idea of personal beauty are pandering to the lower part of nature. One may be perfectly beautiful so far as that kind of beauty goes, and lack true beauty, which is like a royal diadem upon the head. Those who give much time to increasing their personal charms are living on a lower level than is altogether becoming to womanhood. A beautiful soul shining out of a plain face is far more attractive than a beautiful face out of which looks a soul full of selfishness and coldness.
My dear friend, be not careless of the good looks that nature has given you; take care in dressing yourself and attending to personal neatness, that you may ever appear at your best. Seek goodness and purity first, then strive to keep the body in harmony with the beauty of the heart. Take time to make yourself presentable, but do not use the time before your mirror that should be given to loving service. Let your chief charm be of heart and spirit, not of face and form. Seek the true beauty, which lasts even into old age.
Solomon expresses plainly the evil that comes to a woman who is beautiful of face but lacks the true beauty of soul. "As a ring of gold in a swine's snout, so is a lovely woman who lacks discretion." As the swine would plunge the golden ring into the filth and the mire as he dug in the dirt, so will a pretty woman, in outward appearance only, drag her beauty down to the very lowest. There are many peculiar temptations to those who are only fair of face. Without true beauty of soul, a pretty face is a dangerous gift." -Beautiful Girlhood, Chapter .
Lets all strive to have true beauty--beauty of heart!
No comments:
Post a Comment