Beauty Is Not Caused. It Is.

Women were created to be pursued, fought for, and admired. God made us in His image, and He gave us the same desire that He has: to enthrall those we come in contact with. Deep inside our fragile hearts, passed the walls that have inevitably been built up after years of never feeling quite good enough, there is a longing that all have but not many acknowledge: the need to feel beautiful.

I remember when I was a little girl. I used to dress up in silly princess outfits and twirl around in circles in front of my daddy. I would bat my eyelashes and give him my best smile, just waiting to hear how pretty I looked. Now that I am grown, I seek the same attention from my husband. Every time he tells me that I'm beautiful, my heart flutters. Every single time.

So, yesterday I decided to pay the compliment forward to a woman I have never met. I was watching the local news at the time, and the anchorwoman was wearing a particularly gorgeous sweater and had a new haircut. I found her e-mail address, and sent off a simple but kind note complimenting her sweater and making sure to use the word "beautiful." I honestly did not know if she would even read it, but I figured it was worth a try.

Well, to my surprise, I had a reply from her later that afternoon! She said that she was unsure of her new haircut and was not feeling very confident, so she really appreciated my words and they came at a great time. She smiled. She felt beautiful. I'm pretty sure there was a little heart flutter, even if she didn't feel it. Mission accomplished.