Sometimes beauty, instead of being in the eyes of the beholder, is in the eyes of the heart.
I recently visited my retina specialist for my semi-annual eye examination. Once I arrived at the office and checked in with the receptionist, I found a seat in the middle of the waiting room, kind of away from everyone else.
This doctor’s office provides a playroom for children just off the waiting room. The playroom has a glass front and glass door so those watching over the children can keep an eye on them.
As I was sitting there, I noticed a little girl coming in and out of the playroom. She was a spunky, adorable, bitty little thing, maybe four or five years old. She had curly blonde hair and mischievous, sparkling eyes.
And yes, she definitely wore a smile with all of that!
There was an older woman watching her. She looked like she could be her grandmother, so we will just call her Nana.
This little munchkin did not stay still for hardly a moment or two. She popped out of the playroom once and said to Nana, “I sure am having fun in here. Are you having fun out there?”
Nana assured her that she was having fun.
The little girl went back into the playroom for a bit. Then she pushed the door open extra-wide and stood there holding it open. I would imagine she was making sure she had everyone’s attention.
Very dramatically, with her arm raised toward the middle of the room, she looked at Nana and then back out into the waiting room and said, “Look at all those girls!”
She glanced back at Nana, then back at the waiting room crowd and declared, “How beautiful they are.”
She looked at Nana for confirmation. After Nana nodded her approval, she looked back at “all those girls” and then theatrically exited the waiting room and returned to the playroom.
The waiting room of “all those girls” was not exactly running over that day.
The only people in there, other than Nana and this little girl, were three women—three older women—with me probably being the youngest at 66.
And I am far past being a girl.
That was what made it so adorable. That little thing was looking at three older women scattered around the room and absolutely pouring it on.
Whatever princess world she was playing in that day, I liked it!
It made me smile. Big.
We all know that children can be extremely truthful at times—painfully so. I have also found that they can be very kind when kindness is within their hearts.
I believe God wants us to be kind to one another and to try to see the beauty in each other.
It is true that it is easier to see beauty in some people than in others.
But when we are having difficulty finding beauty in someone, what would it look like if we simply took a step back from the situation? What if we made the effort to look beyond what we see on the surface and asked God to help us discover their hidden beauty?
Scripture can help guide us through this process. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5 to put faith, love, and hope upon ourselves and to encourage others.
“8…let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 11 Wherefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as also ye do.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:8, 11 (ASV)
And isn’t our world in need of a little more faith, hope, and love—possibly in the form of kindness and encouragement?
You don’t have to be a five-year-old playing in a make-believe world to show kindness to others.
It could be as simple as smiling at a stranger, acknowledging someone’s presence, giving a hug to someone who looks like they may need it, or simply being kind in an unkind world.
Yes, sometimes beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
But wouldn’t it be a more beautiful world if it flowed freely from the heart?
————————————————
What is your relationship to the all-knowing God of the universe? Do you know the peace that can come only from an intimate relationship with Jesus? You can know Him. Jesus Christ—God’s Son, born into human flesh, sinless, crucified and giving His life freely, buried, arisen on the third day—will come into your life and change the outcome of your eternity. You just have to be willing to believe and accept His truth. In addition, here is an excellent page that can give you additional information on peace with God: PeaceWithGod.net.
————————
Blog Image AI Generated
Restricted Vision, Unburdened Sight 