We planned on transforming my blonde-headed Bella into the adventurous sea princess, Ariel, but I didn't quite expect to be blown away by her beauty on Halloween night. While all the kids raced from door-to-door in their various costumes, asking for candy to fill up their bags and buckets, I kept staring at my daughter in her sequined gown amidst an array of her black-garbed friends.
Maybe it's because I'm with her all of the time and so intent on keeping her straight. I realized that it's possible that I, her mother, may not tell her enough what everyone else so quickly comments when meeting her,
"You know your name means 'beautiful' in Italian."
"Yes, I know," she so easily replies.
We planned that. Her dad & I. When choosing names for our kids, I always look at the meaning. Where does it come from? Who does it represent? I feel very strongly that those names can define our children to a certain extent.
But I try to impart in my 7-year-old how beauty is so much more than what you can see. It's what people feel when they are around you. Being beautiful is more of a verb of action than an uncontrollable adjective. People may or may not think much of your exterior, but they'll certainly be in agreement with what you exhibit from the inside.
I don't know who gave it to her, but we've read this book to Bella since she was a little thing, and it sends the exact message I want to convey: Princess Bella and the Red Velvet Hat.
When God shows me moments of beauty in my daughter, whether above or beneath the surface, I must remember to tell her- not leaving out that "...beauty should come from within you-the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit." 1 Peter 3:4 (International Children's Bible)
One day, someone may try to tell her otherwise. I hope that she will believe the truth.
Bella IS beautiful.
I'm not bragging. Just telling it like it is. Share it with YOUR daughter :-)
2 comments:
Yes she is... was it the Fetherlins that gave that book to her? I can't remember...
what a sweet sweet post. :)
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