Hi guys. It’s Dad. An idea crossed my mind this morning after I dropped you off at school. It's bugged me for a while, so I want to share it with you. We live in a beautiful country, but this is one area where I think America got it wrong. Don’t let anybody or anything tell you what is beautiful. Only you could possibly know what is beautiful to YOU. Don’t look at magazine covers. Don’t watch reality TV. Don’t "see" what is shown to you…but see what truly is. Do you know the difference between a flowering weed and a flowering plant? I sure don’t. Does it even matter? They're both plants, and they both grow flowers, right? But which one is more beautiful? If you ask the florist, he’ll tell you that the expensive one beautiful. The truth is…how could a florist possibly know what’s beautiful to you? When you grow older and you find a young lady that you’re really attracted to, tell her that she is beautiful. She is beautiful the way she is. If she wasn't, you wouldn’t be attracted to her in the first place. Is it her intelligence or her kindness? Is it her strong spirit or her sense of humor? Or is it a unique blend of all of those qualities? Something attracted you to her, and her to you; something beautiful. Sure, when you're out on a date and her hair's just right and her makeup looks great - oh yeah, and she's wearing that cute outfit you love, she IS beautiful! But what about when she goes to sleep? What about when she wakes up in the morning with messy hair and wrinkly ol' pajamas? Did she somehow, in the middle of the night, become a completely different person? Of course not. She is the same person, with the same heart, the same mind, the same sense of humor; the same beauty. Yeah, her hair is a mess, and she’s sleepy, but she is just as beautiful as she was the night before. It's the truth. I promise. You know what’s beautiful about that special moment; that morning with messy hair and bad breath? What's special is "Her self." She is showing you her true, authentic self, and that means that she trusts you. She trusts you and feels safe next to you. What moment could be more beautiful than that? So, in that moment; in those types of moments, tell her that she’s beautiful and tell her why. Maybe she makes you laugh. Maybe she challenges you to become a stronger man. Maybe when she touches you, or she leans on your shoulder, even if just for a moment, the weight of the world melts away, . Protect her beauty, boys. Protect what's inside. Hide here eyes and her heart from the ridiculous standards that our society had created. Tell her to not to believe the lies and deceptions of the media. She is, as God intended; perfect. Maybe she's tall. Maybe she's short. Maybe she's curvy, or maybe she's not. Her eyes are unique. There aren't any other eyes like hers. Her hair is perfect, straight or curly, long or short, blonde, brown, red, or gray. It’s perfect. Be drawn to your partner for who she really is, and that will stand the test of time. We age. Our skin loses its softness. We get sick. We could become disfigured. We could lose the use of our body all together. Our bodies change, and there’s no way around that. Of course we're attracted to physical beauty! We're human beings! But only being attached to someone because they're cute will probably lead to a broken heart down the road. Our outward beauty is something that will inevitably leave us. It's something that we don’t ever actually possess, but we borrow. So don't grow too attached to it. It's about heart and character and respect and admiration and joy. A woman’s body changes when she gives birth to a child. On TV, in movies, magazines, and on social media, these changes are criticized, sending young women running to surgeons to get those changes "fixed". Those changes should be embraced, revered, and respected, not shamed, hidden, and criticized. Those changes are proof of the sacrifice she made in order to bring life into this world. THAT is beauty. Oh yeah, boys, remember that we age too. We'll get older, and slower, and less muscular, and bald! ;) That inner beauty though; that beauty that took you beyond attraction and made you fall in love; that beauty that made your heart ache when you were apart; that beauty doesn’t goes away. Like a flower, if you care for it, it grows. Guys, I want you to see that beauty in all things. It’s in the sunset. It’s in the mountains. It’s in a rock or a landmark or a skyscraper. And it’s in each of you. And it’s in all of us. See it. Appreciate it. …and tell her she’s beautiful. I love you, Dad
1 Comment
Steve Newsom
5/2/2017 01:40:06 pm
Awesome
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AuthorAs a father of two sons, I have often wavered between feeling the burden of raising two strong, intelligent, compassionate young men and the privilege of doing so. Archives
May 2017
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