Don't Just "Look" Pretty, BE Beautiful!

I woke up today thinking about how some of the most horrible food I've had came in the most attractive packaging. You are probably thinking, "Why in the world would you wake up thinking about that?" Well, a few days ago, I took Hailey to her follow-up doctor's appointment and found out that she is allergic to cow's milk and wheat (gluten). So, we've now been experimenting with dairy free and gluten free foods. Some of them have been pretty tasty, and some of them have been downright nasty! I started to notice that the ones with the prettiest packaging were the ones that tasted the worst. Now, maybe it was pure coincidence, but it got me thinking about other things.

Like, how some of the ugliest people I've ever met are the nicest, kindest, sweetest people I know. While some of the most beautiful people I've met have been the rudest, least generous, most self-centered people I've ever known. Now, that's not always the case. I know plenty of beautiful people who are just as beautiful on the inside, and plenty of ugly people who are just as ugly on the inside. I'm just having a thought here, so don't hate ok. : ) The same can also be said about flowers. Some of the most gorgeous flowers have no smell, or they have a foul smell, while some of the less attractive flowers (or, plain flowers) smell amazing! I guess my point is this: No matter what we look like on the outside; beautiful, ugly, plain, thin, fat, short, tall...we can ALL be beautiful. We should be looking for beauty because it's all around us.

I looked up the definition of the word 'beauty' and here is what I found:

1. the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest).
2. a beautiful person, esp. a woman
3. a beautiful thing, as a work of art, or a building
4. something that is beautiful in nature or in some natural or artificial environment
5. an individually pleasing or beautiful quality; grace, charm
6. something excellent of its kind (ie. My old car was really a beauty.)

So, there you have it. My favorite part of number one was where it says 'a meaningful design or pattern' and 'a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest'. God created us in a meaningful design. There is something beautiful about each and every person we see. Especially in someone who is letting the light of Christ pour out of them. When we let Jesus shine through us, people can't help but stop and take a second look. We should look different from the world. That's a good thing. We need to make sure that what is on the inside of us is clean. That way, no matter what we look like on the outside, it won't be a sham or be false.

I read someone's definition of inner beauty and I thought it was really good. She said, "For women, inner beauty should be very important. Inner beauty helps you understand who you really are as a person. There are so many influences in the world that can cause us to lose focus on what beauty really is. Inner beauty is the innate beauty within. It's not a physical appearance that you can see however, it is shown through love and compassion for another person. To your mate your inner beauty could be what really counts. Some people don't just look at appearance to make a conclusion on if they want to be with that person or not. Inner beauty allows you to be unique in many ways."

I liked what she said about inner beauty allowing you to be unique. There's only so much we can do with our outer appearance. But, we can do SO much with our inner appearance. That is what we need to be focusing on.

So, back to food packaging....I think it's just going to be trial and error with trying these new foods however, I think I'm going to stick to the ugly packaging and try those first. 'Cuz maybe they just know their food is good and they don't need the fancy packaging to put on a facade. Wouldn't that be a great way to live? If we know that what's inside of us is beautiful, then we can have true confidence no matter what we look like on the outside.