Beauty

Yikes...it's been awhile. I've been meaning to write for awhile but things have been a little busy, so here we go, a month later.

Recently I've picked up Captivating, a book I read several years ago. I would highly suggest checking out the link because you can read a good portion of the book on-line. The subtitle to the book is "Unveiling the mystery of a woman's soul." Intriguing, isn't it? It is written by the author of Wild at Heart, John Eldredge, and his wife Stasi. Together these books explore what is at the heart of being a man and a woman. The basis of the books comes from the three desires of our hearts. The desires of a man's heart are a battle to fight, an adventure to go on, and a beauty to rescue. Captivating talks about these a bit, but focuses on the heart of a woman.

We think you'll find that every woman in her heart of hearts longs for three things: to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, and to unveil beauty. That's what makes a woman come alive.

The second chapter explores the relationship of God and these desires and it also goes more in depth by getting at the heart of "beauty." A few quotes I found myself underlining are:

Beauty is the essence of God.

Nature is not primarily functional. It is primarily beautiful.

Beauty is the essence of a woman...both a physical beauty and a
soulful/spiritual beauty.

...she expresses beauty simply in who she is. Like God, it is her
essence.

There are several attributes of beauty that are also discussed and I will simply state them here:

Beauty invites.

Beauty nourishes.

Beauty comforts.

Beauty inspires.

Beauty is transcendent.

Beauty is, without question, the most essential and the most misunderstood of all of God's qualities - of all feminine qualities too (p 40).

Reading this chapter has make me take at look at my own beauty and also the beauty of other women. It is quite amazing to be able to acknowledge that all women have a beauty to unveil, no matter who they are. Our 73-year-old bookkeeper has beauty, the 11-year-old girl at Mass at beauty, the woman speeding past me on the highway and the woman walking across the TCU campus all have a beauty to unveil.

One of the reasons why John and Stasi say that it is the most misunderstood of feminine qualities is because it causes so much pain. Women will put themselves through a lot to look and feel beautiful and some never realize that beauty is not simply their outward appearance but what they hold in their heart and the whispers of their soul. In over a month I will be giving a small 15-minute talk at our Mother/Daughter Tea on how God made us wonderful. The girls will be in grades 5th-7th and will be facing many of the issues society pushes upon them at young ages and they want to know the answer to the question "am I lovely?" I hope to get across to these girls, and their mothers, the importance of beauty, but what it truly means. We are beautiful no matter what, and simply by being a woman we radiate the beauty of God. If guys can't see that, they're idiots - sorry for such blunt language.

Yesterday I was talking with a guy friend about my struggles with guys down here. We were talking about flirting but then he brought up a good point... it is important to get to know the other person and have them get to know me - beyond the playful banter and small talk. He said that people see the happy, energetic side of me well before they see the down-to-earth, serious side. It's something I can definitely work on, letting the true me come out while also getting to know more about another, what their passions are, what bothers them, what brings them joy. Then he told me that "any guy who doesn't see [my great qualities] once he gets to know you is probably an idiot anyway so it's not worth worrying about." This all relates back to inner beauty and letting that shine through. Thanks, T. :)