Guest Post: Wendy from Almota Roses Photography

This first guest poster, Wendy from Almota Roses Photography, has blown me away by her words and pictures.  Sit back and enjoy as she reminds us what true beauty is all about.
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"Beauty Is..."

I have a daughter.... who loves to talk to herself in the mirror... and kiss her own little lips....   cracks me up every time.

In my eyes she is the most beautiful little girl in the whole.wide.world.

...but I must confess.... 

I worry about the years to come..... what will this beauty bring.....

Will she, like her momma, spend too much time anxiously looking at the reflection and fear that she will never be "pretty"?

(at least not pretty as the world sees pretty)

Or will she instead, vainly glorify her beauty at the expense of all else?

Or, perhaps will she detest her beauty.... and long for something else .... for sleek black hair and dark ember eyes?

These are just some of the things that worry me about raising this little mirror-kissing goddess...

(my 3 boys, not so much...they come with other worries, though)

And as one thought flows on to another.... I begin to wonder if there is a way to help her find the real meaning of beauty, long before the years of angst begin...

...before fashion magazines and teen peers and self-image woes...

Can I show her by the way I live, that beauty is much more than a pretty face and designer clothes?

(before she is much too cool for this antiquated momma)

Can I show her that beauty is all around....

...in the tiny ladybug and the soaring eagle...

...in the smallest snowflake and the tallest sunflower.....

...in the multitude of words and the refuge of silence...

 ...in the vibrant blush of sunset and the deep dark, unknown night?

(Will she remember these things when her life is a rollercoaster of friends and school and activities?)

These are the things I ask myself....

And though the answers are yet to come.... I will try...

...try to show her that beauty is not only in the eye of the beholder, but also in the loving way you hold the hurting...

...in the kind words and warm acceptance of the "un-pretty" things in life....

because what this world needs is a fresh pair of eyes to really LOOK and see the beauty all around.

Wouldn't you say?