What Makes Us Beautiful

(Original here.)

I was driving home the other day from taking the Handy Man to work, listening to the radio. The DJ's said they were going to do 'girl talk', which I'm guessing is a regular feature. They then went on to talk about an article some idiot guy wrote about how women should never cut their hair short, because women with short hair are ugly.

I waited for the DJ's (one man, one woman) to rebuff this guy's opinion. Imagine my shock when they began agreeing with him, even naming some celebrities who recently cut their hair.
"So-and-so cut hers and she looks like a man."
"Oh, and this person cut hers, it's awful!"

I sat in stunned silence. They weren't actually doing this, were they? And, then, it got worse.

"We'd like you to call in and tell us, 'what makes a woman ugly'."

This is not happening. I am not listening to two adults, one of them a woman herself, asking people to call in and trash women. But, it was. And, when the first caller began to speak (a man, who was laughing), I'm sorry I heard what he said. I turned the station and fumed the rest of the way home.

We have to stop doing this.

Life is hard enough, with its trials and disappointments. Sometimes, just making it through the day, even the next hour is a battle. We do not need to make it harder on each other.We must do everything we can to lift each other up, not tear each other down.

We are children of God--brothers and sisters. We each have within us the ability to do so much. The possibilities are endless. Our biggest obstacle, truly, is the way we feel about ourselves. Satan is doing everything he can to make us feel 'less than'. The best way to fight him is to do it together. We need to link our arms and march forward, believing in ourselves and buoying each other up. We cannot do that when we are gossiping and backbiting and saying awful, mean things.

I wish those DJ's had taken the high road. Instead of focusing people on the negative, asking them to think of mean things, they could have asked listeners to call in and tell what makes a woman beautiful. What a difference that would have made.

I'm asking you today--stop and think-what makes women beautiful? What makes you beautiful?  Is it your eyes? Your hands? The way you speak softly to your children? How you make them laugh? Your compassion?

If you're having a hard time thinking of something, watch this video. It's been all over facebook, but I felt it deserves another look. We are so hard on ourselves, sometimes we need to hear what others think to realize and recognize our beauty. I am surrounded by amazing, beautiful women, yet I wonder if they know how fabulous they truly are.

So, tell me, What Makes You Beautiful?