Beauty Pageant of the Heart

As I tried to prepare Sarah for the pageant I kept telling her, “Jesus wants us to have a pretty heart”. I know that brought no consolation the night of the pageant when she didn’t win. But, I’ve learned that when Jesus is telling me something to tell someone else, He’s going to teach me a lesson about it. For the past few weeks I’ve been having to ask myself “Do I have a pretty heart?”

I know that might sound silly, but seriously, how much time do we spend worrying about our hearts? In the last few weeks I’ve had to deal with some really difficult people and situations and I have to tell you, I wish my heart could be prettier. I know that there have been days when there was not enough makeup in the world to hide the ugly faces I’ve made, enough lipstick to paint on a fake smile, or enough perfume to cover up the stench of my bad attitude. I’ve never held out hope of winning Miss America and I’ve come to the conclusion that if my heart was what was on display it would not be so impressive either. I would most definitely not have won Miss Congeniality in the last couple of weeks!!!!

So, somehow a school beauty pageant has led me to want not a pretty dress, but a pretty heart.

“To discover a flaw in our makeup is a chance to get rid of it, and add a new line of beauty to our life.”
-Billy Sunday