Beauty – here’s a different perspective!!!
“A few years back, there was an overweight hillbilly woman who worked in the local store I our hometown. Every time we went into the hardware store, several men would be standing around the counter talking to her, and they were always laughing. We usually had to wade through the cheerful crowd and interrupt the gaiety to get served. Her swarm of admirers reminded me of bees around the honey, buzzing with high interest. The strange thing was that this woman was ugly, I men hillbilly ugly, which is worse than regular ugly. One day as we were leaving the store, I laughingly brought to my husband’s attention all those men standing around talking to the sales clerk. His reply really surprised me, “Oh, you mean that cute little lady?” Life and learn! And apparently I really had something important to learn. In his mind that lady was cute! The truth is, she was not little, she was not cute, and she was not young. Be she did smile, laugh, and giggle, and she was always ready for a good clean joke. I loved being in the store talking to her as much as the men did. She was delightful.
A few weeks later, we saw her in the grocery store. She was mad at her very obese daughter for grabbing a handful of candy. Gone were the smiles, giggles, and radiance that had so captivated everyone at the hardware store. In their place was a bitter, ugly snarl. My husband remarked when we left the grocery store, “Haven’t we seen that woman somewhere before? She looks familiar, but I just can’t place her.” When I told him who she was, he was stunned. “No, it’s not possible; it just can’t e her. The woman in the hardware store does not look like that.” I could see the truth dawn on him, and he was so disappointed. The funny thing was that the woman looked just like she always did. She was the same size, same scraggly hairstyle, the same clothes style, the same everything she was when we saw her in the hardware store. All she lacked was her glorious smile. It was her most valuable asset. Her face was always so radiant, her smile so infectious, her laughter so sweet, and her eyes so earnest that people simply saw her as cute. I don’t know if she had a husband, but I am sure she could have had a dozen different men in that small town –m as long as they never saw her in the grocery store, mad at her daughter. Pearl, Debi. Created to be His Helpmeet. TN: No Greater Joy Ministries, Inc. 2004
There’s so much to learn from this little story! How are you doing on reflecting your “Beautiful Savior?”
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Beyond Common Sense 