Do not let your beauty come from the outside. It should not be the way you comb your hair or the wearing of gold or the wearing of fine clothes. It should come from the heart. This is the kind that lasts. Your beauty should be a gentle and quiet spirit. In God’s sight this is of great worth and no amount of money can buy it. [1 Peter 3:3-4 (NLV)]

Dear Lord, we know that enhancing our spirits is far more important than adorning our bodies. Guide us so we spend more time in prayer and less time in front of the mirror. May our main concern be who we are on the inside and not what we appear to be on the outside.

If you feel your value lies in being merely decorative, I fear that someday you might find yourself believing that’s all that you really are. Time erodes all such beauty, but what it cannot diminish is the wonderful workings of your mind: Your humor, your kindness, and your moral courage. These are the things I cherish so in you. [Said by Mrs. March to her girls in Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women”]