Beauty.

I once created a quote for myself that was this: “Beauty is underrated”. I never wanted to really utter those words out loud, out of fear that I’d unintentionally sound vain. But I’ve finally found the meaning behind that phrase that gives the idea sense….

Right now I’m holding a beautiful, beautiful little girl. She smiles with her eyes and her toothless mouth. She laughs when you sneak up to her and tickle her belly. Her tiny fingers clench around my wrists as I type. Her pretty little fingernails softly scrape my skin as she clenches and releases her precious little hands. She doesn’t really cry unless she ABSOLUTELY has to… She loves life, even at her tiny size. She loves exploring the world with her eyes because that’s about all she can do at the time. Someday soon, this beautiful, little girl will be sitting up and crawling- lighting up the entire room still with her smile. Her dark eyes sparkle with delight when I smack kisses on her cheeks. This girl is BEAUTIFUL!

We have a boy here who has a cerebral palsy. He LOVES being sung to and held. He smiles the sweetest smile when you give him love and attention. He wants you just to talk to him and involve him in what you are doing. The strength of his happiness is incredible. He suffers from exhausting seizures and not having parents to rub his back, but his is undeniably going to inherit so much in Heaven someday. This boy… this boy has a BEAUTIFUL spirit.

A boy lives here who I’m honestly addicted to his smile. I could spend all day trying to make him giggle the goofiest laugh that he possesses just to watch him scrunch up his face into the happiest state! His tiny legs wobble when I help him stand, but I’m positive he’ll be golden at standing and independently walking too soon! He has huge brown eyes and curls far prettier than ever seen on a girl! He is BEAUTIFUL!

There is a woman who comes in on a regular basis for assistance with medications. Her joy in life despite her very hard circumstances blows me away. She is totally and completely a peaceful woman in the sense that you feel at rest around her. She is filled with a lasting joy. She is, from the inside to the outside, BEAUTIFUL.

I know some pretty adorable boys here. And when I say adorable, I mean to the extreme. These two in particular are twin brothers and they are chunky, chunky babies. They make quite an impression on me because of their laidback sense of happiness. They giggle during hair washing when others would cry. They scoot around and try to stand up or explore their world- capturing hearts along the way. And they are heavy… heavy, heavy, heavy. I love carrying them around on my hip because they are just so solid! Needless to say, these guys are, I’ll switch it up, HANDSOME!

The other morning I took a walk as the sun was coming up. There was fog that was slowly disappearing as the sunlight chased it away. The mountains were luminous. Farmers were out hard at work in their fields. It was peaceful. Quiet. And Beautiful.

My dad has worked hard his whole life to give us a solid foundation for an honest life. He took us on adventures, held us when we cried, and loved us unconditionally. My dad is a really beautiful person. My mom is physically gorgeous. People always say this. But far beyond that, she gave up her entire life for her children. She sacrificed and sacrificed more until it hurt. She loved us, and she wanted us to know that. She wanted us to learn, be productive and intelligent, make wise choices, and have the best life she could give us. My mom is an incredibly beautiful person. My little sister Tessa is physically one of the cutest people you’ll ever meet. But she’s deep. She cares about people until it brings tears. Her patience and attitude in life carry her spirit to bring joy to peoples’ lives. She is without a doubt a beautiful person. My older brother loves his wife in a way that sets a high standard for everyone else, my sister-in-law courageously encourages when no one else will, my older sister puts “sister-time” on a whole new level, and her husband’s character and essence with people is unlike any other. My family is BEAUTIFUL!!!

I bet you can say the same about so much in your life. You have mothers, fathers, sisters, friends, stranger who you pass by… beautiful people. People who inspire rest by the character they possess. Sights that stop you in your tracks. Music that you replay over and over. Things that you can’t explain the “why” behind the reason they relax you or give you strength. But beauty is just that… and that is why it is underrated. True beauty should be sought after every day to bring the element of inspiration, gratitude, and amazement to our lives.

The reason I’m writing a blog about beauty is because I started reading a book called “Captivating”. It cultivated some thoughts about beauty, but what I learned in that book was something I wanted to share. It spoke about how women need and want to feel beautiful. That is the essence of a woman in fact. She wants to feel pursued, treasured, and lovely. It made me think about some of the modern day men. I feel like sometimes they miss that--- they stop pursuing their “princess” and stop going to great lengths to win over their hearts. Women deeply desire a man who does will stop at nothing to hold their precious soul for their time on this earth. The book also described how a man’s deepest desire is to be appreciated and supported. To not be stripped of their masculinity or made to feel anything less than a hero. They want to feel strong, successful, and important. They want a true woman, and women want a true man. This book goes into depth about God and how He helps fulfill us, but these opening thoughts in the book left a lasting impression on me. I thought a lot about just the modern day loss of the “beauty” and the “hero”. Over the past few years, I started thinking that what I needed to be was busy all the time, and always having important things to do. But this book taught me about how a beautiful characteristic in a woman is instead a sense of rest and peace… which I started to think about and, to my surprise, I realized how true this was. Women, no matter their personalities, are lovely when they bring nurture to those around them. My mom does, my aunts do, my friends do…. But then again, I DO know some beautiful women!! These women care for those in their lives, and far beyond deserving of being pursued by the man who loves them until their dying day. The men I know ARE in fact heroes—they provide, protect, provide adventure, and keep the world safe. They should be appreciated to no end, be told how needed they are, and feel supported every day.

I understand I’m hardly one to have experienced life enough to speak on this topic. But that’s sort of the BEAUTY (ha!) of it.. I haven’t become bitter from days gone by quite yet. I learn from the wiser, and try to understand this area of life before I find myself in a situation which I struggle to handle. I wish I could proclaim it from the mountaintops… WOMEN: Appreciate your men and support them! MEN: Make your woman feel like the most gorgeous woman in all the land, and pursue her with everything you’ve got!

I’ll start to sum up with this… This morning I went for a walk again. As I was in my own world thinking, I noticed a boy walking towards me who was missing his forearm. My mind immediately went to feeling sorry for him, thinking about how hard it must be for him to live like that. I’d imagine the ridicule he’d face at his young age. But as we were about to walk right past each other, he shyly glanced up. For just two seconds, I saw the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen in my life. His eyes were a golden brown, and GLOWING in the sunlight. They had a black rim around them. For the next ten minutes, I kept thinking about how incredibly gorgeous this young boy’s eyes were. It made me think again of beauty… if we choose to see people at the splendor they were created with, or if we always jump to feel pity for what we see as not whole about them.

Beauty is seeing something at the value that God created it to be. Beauty is appreciating what is actually there. It rest when you are weary of life. It is joy when hope seems bleak. Beauty is sunsets and sunrises, beaches and deserts, people and animals. It is tears when true devastation exists, it is the first smile a tiny baby sneaks at you, it is life after death, joy after pain, and hope after losing after losing everything. I’m learning a lot of things in Haiti, but I’ve certainly been learning more about beauty than I planned. Beauty is often vain, empty, ignored, or forgotten after years pass by. But it never should be tossed aside so carelessly because beauty is the essence of a woman, the design behind creation, and the fuel for a better life. Beautiful places and people with beautiful souls experience growth and resounding sustainability. It is the answer to prayers. Beauty IS underrated.