Bella has gotten quite good at handing out “You’re so pretty” compliments. She says it to me often, but she also shares the same compliment with complete strangers – anyone we may pass in a store or on the playground or at church. Disclaimer: She does not get this from me. She is far more outgoing than I ever was, or still am, for that matter. Of course it makes me such a proud mother when I see how Bella’s friendly comment makes people smile. I just have to stop and thank God for the blessing He gave us in that little girl. She truly is a gem.
Today Bella paid me this particular comment, for the umpteenth time, and the thought occurred to me that she probably says “You’re so pretty” so often to so many different people because she hears it, herself, so often. And as I realized this, all of a sudden it made sense to me why it’s so important for me to hear the voice of my Father speaking over me “You are beautiful.” I need to hear Him say this to me, and hear it often, so that I can see others as beautiful. If the idea of beauty becomes ingrained in my mind, I will be more apt to see it in the world around me. I will be more likely to see the beauty of the world, and not the ugly. I will start to see the beauty in others, and not the ugly. For certain I have never heard Bella ever say that anyone is ugly, but then again, I have never heard anyone say that to her either. It’s just not in her vocabulary.
It is important for us to know that our Father does see us as beautiful, just for the sake of knowing how He feels about us. Could we not even love Him unless He first loved us? And could we not see Him, or anything else, as beautiful unless He first shows us what beauty is. It really is true that you can’t love anything else unless you first love yourself, and even that originates with God. We love ourselves, and love God, and love others in response to His love for us. Freely we receive, so freely we can give. Likewise, we can appreciate the beauty of all that God has created because we are already familiar with the concept of beauty. Seeing comes from believing, believing comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word. When we hear, when we listen, to Him say “You are beautiful,” and when we start to believe it, our vision for what beautiful really is is expanded. And when this happens, we can truly have life, and have it abundantly.