INNER BEAUTY

I went to a fireside Sunday night.  It celebrated all different kinds of women.  The stages of women's lives.  The sorrows and joys that women go through as we grow from young to old.  Problems and things that make us sad are unique to the individual, yet are universally felt and because of this there is a bond that ties women together.  This program had beautiful music written by a woman in this particular stake, and performed by members of the same stake.  It always amazes me how much talent exists in the church and how people are willing to give of their time and talents to uplift others. The ladies performing had to have practiced hours to give such a professional performance. 
As I watched, it struck me how different each woman looked.  Different hairstyles, ways of dressing, body shapes and sizes, but the beauty on each face was very apparant.  No voice sounded alike, yet they all sounded lovely.  My niece was part of the cast.  As I watched her and listened to her clear voice as she sang her part, I was struck by her amazing beauty.  She is truly a pretty girl, but I think that the real beauty came through because of the pureness of her voice and the conviction behind the words that she was singing.  She had that light shining through and around her that comes from within. She is just really good and real and pure. It shows and it makes her beautiful.  
I know many women like that.  Women who are righteous, good, kind, who see the best in others, who have charity.  Whatever their physical features are does not matter, for they become lovely because of what is going on inside their hearts.  In this world, that is so obsessed with the way everyone looks, it is nice to be reminded of what real beauty is all about.  A smile, a kind word, a hug...warm loving eyes.  These are things that make a woman truly beautiful..

"The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.  The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.  There beauty in a woman is refelected in her soul.  It's the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of that woman only grows with passing years."

-Audrey Hepburn