Well, there it was.  I saw it the other day.  Sunshine.  What in the world was the SUN doing SHINING on my day off??  Usually it waits until I get to work & can’t get outside.  But, there it was, the sun.  Shining.  I thought I would never see it again.  You know how it is.  The sun comes out for 5 minutes & everybody has flip flops on and some even shorts.  I just shake my head.

With spring coming along, lots of people are trying to get fit.  I was just talking to a lady at work.  We were saying how this is the time people are throwing it into high gear with their exercising, so they will look good in their clothes for the summer.   No one wants to look unattractive.  We color our hair & get cute haircuts, try to wear trendy clothes, buy the necessary accessories, purchase new shoes, and meticulously apply our make up, whatever it takes to look attractive.  If you are like me, those things may or may not all come together for you.  I tell my hairdresser, I don’t want to be one of those people that you see from the back & think, “Oh what a pretty girl.”  And then you see them from the front & they are cute as can be except they have an old face.  Meaning don’t let me look too young for my age.  So far, we’ve had a pretty good understanding.  She politely tells me when she thinks I need to cut or style my hair this way or that way.  She’s a keeper.

Did you know there are things we do that makes us unattractive?  No, I’m not talking about leaving your eyebrows unattended or not combing your hair.  I’m talking about our inward man.  To God that’s the most important, anyhow.  I read an article on Lifehack.org that talked about how people make themselves unattractive & don’t even realize it.  You can read more about it here

These are some of the statements they proclaim make you unattractive:

1. You are self-absorbed.
2. You are rude.
3. You are always negative.
4. You are the boss. (Always bossy & have to be in control of everything.)

I Peter 3:3-4 (ESV) says that our inward appearance is much more important that what we look like on the outside.

3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—
4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

It’s funny.  When I read these verses, I think of both of my grandmothers.  Both of them were beautiful to me.  They were beautiful to anyone that knew them.  It may not have been the clothes they wore or their outward appearance.  One of my grandmother’s hardly went to town, so her daily wear was simple.  Most of the time she wore a cotton dress or polyester pants & a soft shirt.  She was a plain person, who did not require much.  She took care of her family.  She was gentle & soft spoken. My other grandmother was more on the go.  She went to town weekly, to church every time the doors were opened, & was very social.  She had plenty of nice dresses & pretty outfits.  She got her hair done every week.  She always had her lips painted & face powdered.  However, when people remember her, they don’t remember what she had on or how she looked on the outside.  They recall the meal she fed them or the kind words she had to say.  She was always there to lend an understanding ear to a friend & had helping hands that seldom rested.  She also had a sweet tempered and caring spirit about her.  I believe these are the women Peter is talking about in these verses.  Coincidently, if you read the whole text he is speaking of how women are to be in subjection to their husbands.  That was another wonderful trait of my grandmothers.  They were both loving & faithful to their husbands.  I am so glad to have had wonderful role models.  If I had my druthers, I would much rather be like these considerate, dear ladies. They were not much for puttin’ on the dog.  They were from the country, hardworking, good to the core people.  You don’t find many like that anymore.

Don’t get me wrong.  I am a firm believer in doing all you can to make yourself presentable.  No one has ever died of brushing their teeth or bathing too much.  You can comb your hair, put on clean clothes, & wash your face & it will make all the difference in the world.  However, if you are the most beautiful, gorgeous person in the world & have a bad attitude, you really aren’t that pretty.  It doesn’t matter how good looking you are, if no one can stand to be around you, what’s the point?  Our purpose is to seek and save the lost.  How can a person do that if their ways make them unapproachable?  If a person is so self-absorbed they do not care about the condition of another person’s soul, well that’s another blog post about getting your priorities straight.  Oh, I need to just hush right now, before I go off on a tangent.

Thank you for stopping by to visit with me today.  I hope you are working on your outward appearance.  More importantly, I hope you are also working on your inward self.  Because, every day you have to get up, look in the mirror & say, “This is who I am going to have to deal with today.”  You are much better when you are kind & nice.  I hope there is sunshine wherever you are.  I will be enjoying as much sunshine as I can this week. Right now, I have to be going, because I should be washing clothes.

photo credits: to such as these, etsy & midnightpoesy.blogspot.com