What is true beauty anyway??

  "  I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.How precious are your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of  them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; "
                                                                                                       Psalm 139:14, 17

  In this world a woman's Beauty is a big factor. Weight... hair... makeup... clothes...
   The magazines are full of ads depicting what the world calls beautiful.These days are not so different from centuries of determining what determines a woman's "worth"

  What about the person who has done everything she possibly can to fit in that world. She has  even gone so far as to have surgery to correct what she felt made her less than perfect. And she still doesn't feel adequate. That is so sad, but true in many women.
     . We have a heavenly Father that created us.  In that creation  that God made, according to His Word,  the heart,  brings out the true the beauty of a woman.

 ""Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." NIV  Another version states it this way, "but rather what is inside the heart-- the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."
 The inner self, the heart.  What a person is when no one is looking. How the person responds to situations.  What a woman thinks, that no one can hear, good or bad.   A woman of understanding, and pondering is very beautiful and valuable.
     Internal grace, which brings a  beauty far more captivating than any thing a woman can wear or do to her body . I believe this is brought about by time spent with God, by reading His Word,  and surrendering self to Him, and ultimately  seeing herself as His unique creation that he made with GREAT care.

There are many, many, beautiful women out there. But if only the outside is adorned and the inside is ignored, a beautiful woman can give in to becoming  self centered person, even self consumed to a degree that there is no real beauty seen.  It's is a good thing to care about our appearance. And it is important  to take care of our bodies, be it with exercise, or eating right, keeping weight down. But neglecting the most important element, can never bring true  inner lasting  beauty.

  Gods Word also says... " They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed. " Psalm 34:5
 I believe as the Bible says true beauty comes from " the hidden person of the heart." You won't find that in a gym, or in a tube of lipstick.  Time spent on the heart, reading Gods Word, praying and asking for understanding. The fruits of the Spirit ( Gal. 5:22-23) will come and reside  in a woman's heart.
  So when we look at ourselves in the mirror, I hope we see a reflections of Christ, those of a gentle, quiet, and  understanding hearts, Those are true reflections of beauty in us, that will show in our faces and in our lives. and will never fade with time.