Wife Rule #151: She is Beautiful

My two-year-old daughter is very into pretty things--especially anything princess.

Today as I was dressing her for church, I slipped a beautiful velvet burgundy dress over her head. Then I draped the matching little jacket over her shoulders and fastened it around her neck with a button adorned with a faux diamond. I reached my fingers around the sides of her head and drew her soft, silky hair out of the dress and let it fall down her back until it settled near her waist. I turned her around and tied the dress in the back, then turned her back around for one more look. Gently reaching in and brushing a few stray hairs from her face, I looked into her angelic blue eyes.

"Charity, you're beautiful," I gushed at her, my voice full of tender, fatherly affection.

"Yes I am," was her matter-of-fact reply as she turned and skipped out of the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

"You're beautiful." "Yes I am." There was no doubt there, nor was there any hint of haughtiness. No shyness about it, nor air of superiority. There was just fact, that she is beautiful, and it didn't even occur to her to beat around the bush at admitting it.

If only all daughters could remain as pure and unspoiled as a two-year-old princess, the truth wouldn't be obscured by shame or pride. If only the incessant drone of the world didn't succeed so much in pushing a false standard of beauty that has so little to do with true worth. If only we could see ourselves as our Eternal Father sees us. Then, when He looks down on us with fatherly affection and strokes our hair and whispers "You're beautiful" we could reply with quiet confidence and certainty and admit "Yes, I am."

For every woman in the world, including my wife and daughters, is a daughter of God; and every daughter of God is a princess; and every princess is beautiful.

It's a simple fact.