A parent, you would think, should possess a greater level of maturity than his or her children. Yet, there are times that (if a parent is honest) a parent will admit that his or her child demonstrated greater maturity. With that being said, here it goes:
Last week, I was planning an outing with my mother and five children. We were all getting ready and I had gotten my two-year-old daughter dressed in an adorable little outfit. Her hair was pulled up. Her little curls in perfect place. Socks and sparkly shoes were on. Ready? No, of course not! Not without “the bow.”
I battled with my daughter over the addition of the perfect pink hair bow to her already well positioned hair. “I NO NEED DIT!” She would insist, pulling the bow from her hair. “Oh, but look. It’s so pretty! Don’t you want to look pretty?” I would reply. “I NO NEED DIT!”
I had spent $5 on the bow. It looked so cute on her, and matched her outfit so perfectly. And, in being completely transparent, it put her fashionably to par with the other little girls her age. None the less, she was
not having it. “I NO NEED DIT!” She continued to insist. You know what? She was right.
She is beautiful and wonderful. Hair brushed or her hair a mess, in an adorable dress or in popsicle stained play clothes, wearing sparkly shoes or with dirty bare feet, hair bow or no hair bow, she is beautiful. I had to admit I was wrong. I had to admit to her maturity over mine. I had to tell her she was beautiful, hair bow or no hair bow.
In our society, physical beauty matters. We try to look our best and we want our children to look their best. Yet, in the end, what matters most is not how we look on the outside. What matters most is how we look on the inside. So, next time you are tempted by the “perfect” pair of shoes or the newest style of jeans tell yourself, “I NO NEED DIT!” Then, stand proud in your new found self-confidence and the beauty that matters
most.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14
