“The king is enthralled by your beauty;
honor him for He is your Lord.” ~Psalm 45:11, NIV
Growing up, I lived by that verse. It’s what Bible Drill alumni would call a “Life Application Verse.” I wrote it on post-its and stuck it to my mirror. I scrawled it all over my journal (diary). Whenever I wrote notes to my girlfriends, I signed it, “Jessie!! Psalm 45:11!! Smiley face!!” (and probably bubble letters declaring, “God Loves U!!”) Why? Because beauty is a tricky thing, especially for young ladies.
I am enthralled by my daughter’s beauty. Mesmerized, even. Awestruck, often. She is lovely. She is breathtaking. And I’m not even talking about her wide, warm eyes, or her dainty nose, or her tissue paper lips. It’s in her laugh, her affection, the weight of her little palm resting against my neck, her stiff-legged swagger, her uncontainable joy when she reunites with me after a nap. It is all of these things that are woven within her, things that will grow even more stunning as she does, topped only briefly and as an afterthought by her little pixie doll face, perfect and captivating.
And yet.
One day she will be a young lady who can’t fully believe that. She won’t like the shape of her eyes, or her button-like nose, or how the other girls tower over her, or the length of her neck, or some other nonsensical insecurity that every girl will battle with, because every girl wants to be beautiful. And because that day she won’t feel beautiful on the outside, she will doubt what is beautiful on the inside.
And when she doubts, I can’t wait to show her this verse, point it out, tattoo it on her forehead (boy deterrent). Get it, girl? The King is enthralled by your beauty! The Lord, creator of things like supernovas, fog, mountaintops, fall, the ocean, sunrises…is enthralled by you!
You, girl, are intended to represent the everlasting beauty of God, the intricate delicacy of God, the divine femininity.
I hope that is the beauty my daughter strives for, not whether her teeth or toes are crooked.
I hope that is the beauty I teach her to cherish.
Meet the Buttrams 
This. It’s beautiful.
No, you are.
Gorgeous. Your girl. Your words. You.
My daughter is twelve. I understand this is a struggle she will face.
But not yet.
At least not on the surface.
And maybe, just maybe.
Maybe never?
I can hope.
I’ll always hope she’ll know how worthy of love she is already.
Captivating. Enthralling. Yes.
That’s awesome. I’ll have to remember that verse if I have a daughter someday.
Oh, it’s a good one to hang on to, especially for girls.
I also hope your daughter never feels that struggle. Because girls can be mean. Other girls. Not ours.