Last night as I climbed the steps to turn in for the night I checked in on the kids one more time.  As I came in Rylie's room I was greeted by usual delight in encountering another one of her creations.  I didn't know until she explained this morning, but her room had been made into a spa.

Her stuffed pig was made-over with a cat mask and a blue hair extension.  The pig's look was completed with a tiara. 

Rylie was sacked out, but not before giving herself a proper make-over.  In her tiny, stuffy room she was wearing a furry robe.  As I was trying to take her robe, I noticed two damp wash cloths that were tied to her with a hair ribbon.  I know,....what?

You could tell though, even in her sleep, that she felt stunning. I'm sure she won't always feel that way.

The truth is, her get-up really made her no less, no more beautiful.  But I tarried in her room and smiled at her effort; an effort that is unnecessary.

She's beautiful.  And so is Hallie.  Not because of a do it yourself make-over or the perfect outfit.  Beauty has nothing to do with having every hair in place or having a full head of hair.  It has nothing to do with your pant size, your eyebrow shape or how many blemishes, crinkles or wrinkles have been added . Beauty IS, regardless of whether your teeth are missing, crooked, or too large for your face.

Countless hours, dollars and even tears are spent in the pursuit of beauty.

I'm not saying, that fixing up is a bad thing.  I love a new outfit and a fresh shade of lipstick as much as the next girl.

It's just that as I watched Rylie sleeping with her hair piled in a mess with a slight red mustache from the drink she'd had earlier, I thought about how little she has to do with her beauty. Her beauty treatments and even the big bows I put in her hair are little addition to the beauty that was created "in the secret place".  And honestly, the dirt and imperfections that often times try to define us are smaller than we think.

We would all do better by remembering we have a BIG God who had and has all the beauty secrets a girl could ever need.

Go ahead and play dress-up, I know I will too.  But remember that beauty, the kind that reaches beyond tiaras and lipstick can't be bought or even created.

Beauty is found, not in looking at one self, not in "fixing" one self.  It is found by looking to Him, the ultimate designer-the beautiful one.

Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 

Psalm 34:5