A woman inspired me the other day. It was evening time and the preschoolers were playing outside in the hot sun when she opened the fence. Her toddler son with pale blond hair like dried wheat in the sun was by her side. She came to pick up her daughter.
Unlike most parents who came and went in a rush, this woman allowed her son and daughter the leisure of enjoying a few more minutes on the playground. It was her bright smile that immediately warmed me to her. She stood by me and struck up a relaxing conversation. While we conversed I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she was. Not beautiful the way the world paints beauty–our media romanticizes physical beauty and glamor (which are both pretty shallow in comparison to the real thing). She had deep beauty that came from her soul. She was sturdy, sweet and she had dark brown hair with hazel strands which she tied back. She was dressed comfortably in beige shorts, a white top and tennis shoes. Large sunglasses were tucked behind her ears.
When her daughter (who is so lovable and has what I like to call an “Australian tan”) was hurt playing with a friend she sat her girl on her lap and calmly soothed and explained, “your friend didn’t mean to hurt you.” As they left I noticed she wasn’t driving a car. Instead she had a bike with a built in wagon in the back. She fixed her children in it and fastened helmets on their heads. She too put on one and spread a blanket by her kids feet. They waved and then rode off. As she left I realized afresh that it wasn’t the people with a million possessions that struck me as rich. It was the people who had opened their heart to a million other hearts. It was those like her who could ride a bike and be full of joy and resting in peaceful contentment. Sometimes little can be so much more than a lot–especially when it is strewn together with love. “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”-1 Timothy 6:6
~I wanted you to know that you have a beauty that is refreshing, unique and blossoms into visibility as you rest in the comfort of your divine design. Your soul is meant to receive the abundance of God’s love and acceptance for you. I pray you stand under the waterfall of His affirmations and sweet love toward you. I pray you become soaked in the waters of His grace and that the beauty that He has placed in you shines forth effortlessly as you rest in His unconditional love.