Be the Flower that You Are...

Everything has been flowering around here at an astonishing rate, and I know that more waves of flowers are on their way as the spring progresses.

When visiting my husband's brother's family this weekend, I saw that my sister in law had planted the most beautiful and unusual tulips. They were yellow with orange stripes.

Of course, my favorite color for flowers is.....pink and my favorite flower of all is...the rose! If you read my blog often, you're hardly surprised by that. But, I have rarely met a color -- or a flower -- that I didn't like. We can be thankful that God has blessed us with an array of flowers in different colors and designs. Life is all the richer for variety.

In the same way, each woman possesses something about her that is both unique and beautiful. We have the choice of either obsessing because we don't look like some famous beauty or accepting and making the best of our own, unique beauty.

We've all read articles about famous actresses and models who feel insecure about minute imperfections in their looks. The beauty industry strives for what is unattainable in this earthly life: absolute perfection. It holds up certain definitions of feminine beauty, and we can make ourselves unnecessarily miserable if we measure ourselves by worldly standards of how we should look.

I love this quote about beauty from the book, "A Life Worth Living." "We should view our external appearance much as we would view the front door of a home. It's nice when the front door and entrance are attractive, neat, and clean because this is the first thing we see before entering a home. Inviting, appealing, yes! But, we don't want to stand outside forever! We want to be invited through that door and into the house. The real home is beyond the front door....Isn't that how we shoulda think about our appearance? It's only the front door to who we really are. We do what we can to make a nice impression, but we should spend most of our time and effort on the inside."

The question is, "What is it about you that is unique, special, and lovely? Make the most of the outer gifts God has given you, and don't fret about any imperfections. Even more so, make the most of your inner qualities: your abilities, talents, and personality attributes. These make you an attractive person from the inside out. Whatever inner qualities God has given you, use them to bless the lives of other people and to serve God. If you do, you will find joy and fulfillment in your life.

So, are you a yellow and orange striped tulip? A pink rose? A creamy magnolia? A white dogwood flower? A purple iris? Are you a mountain wildflower or even a humble dandelion blossom?

Whatever type of flower you are, let yourself bloom!

Enjoy!
elizabeth