Beauty is as beauty does.

Yesterday morning I had a vision of a lovely woman decked out in a long, beautiful dress. She was glamorous and beautiful, walking gracefully across the room toward her destination. The scene was a ball, and I had the sense that she was en route to (or arriving at) a heavenly place.

Upon closer inspection, I realized her dress was made of — wait for it — moving machine parts, including spinning wheels. So unusual!

But do you know what instantly flashed through my mind as I watched her dress move in many directions? That the good works she’d accumulated in her lifetime, symbolized by moving machinery, made up the very fabric of her stunning ball gown!

She was literally adorned by her good works, the beautiful things she’d set in motion during her life on earth.

The lady wore her good acts like a gown, covering what would’ve otherwise been her nakedness, her shame. Without each beautiful machine working its magic, this lovely woman would’ve been nude or wearing far too little to cover her properly. She would’ve been walking around embarrassed by her lack of clothing, her failure to display true beauty to those in her life. [Have you ever felt like that girl at a party, dressed all wrong for the occasion? That’s what I’m picturing here.]

Beauty isn’t a look; it’s an action. Put another way: Beauty is as beauty does. 

The most beautiful, lovely, feminine woman — physically well-manicured or not — is one whose beautiful deeds are so plentiful that they could be knit together and worn as a garment!

Such a woman busies herself making the world around her a better place. She brings beauty into her world! She creates it with her own two hands, the words of her mouth, the way she treats people, the special things she does for those around her, by listening with her own ears.

Isn’t that a neat way to think of us ladies? I loved it.

So where do we turn to learn what our “beautiful deeds” should look like? How can we best gauge our progress in becoming increasingly lovelier women?

The best mirror we can look into every day as our “Beauty Barometer” is God’s word, which describes the lovely fruit Christian women can bear with Jesus living in us. This fruit can be enjoyed by both ourselves and the people around us!

Proverbs 31 may be one of Scripture’s most famous passages for its amazing description of a Godly wife & woman. The famous Proverbs 31 woman sounds incredible in every way! But the passage mentions next to nothing about her physical appearance except her buff arms (which enable her to work effectively) and her lovely lips (with which she speaks wisdom & kindness). When we read her description, we can’t help but hope someday someone will say the same about us.

Here are a few excerpts from this passage:

[An excellent wife] does [her husband] good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.

She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.

Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

What will praise the virtuous woman in the gates? Her works! What will she be given one day as her reward? The fruit of her hands! 

Don’t you want to enjoy a sweet harvest after spending your life sowing good deeds? Don’t you want to be praised citywide for the beauty you’ve brought into the world?

I know I do. But I must remember what it is that makes me beautiful. I want to be beautiful on the outside, yes, but I cannot forget that my BEST assets are those I use to help others and to create a world that is a more lovely, more loving, more beautiful, more gracious, more heavenly place.

These will make up the fabric of my life, the ball gown I’ll wear one day when I reach heaven’s gates.

My final thoughts…

Let’s remember this when we look in our mirror every day (& maybe spend less time focusing on it?).

Let’s remember this when we encourage our girl friends why they’re amazing people.

And let’s remember this when we sit down to teach our daughters what it means to be godly women.

Credit: Katie Rhoads, The Educated Owl (Etsy)