Conversation with Selah this morning as I got ready for an early morning at work and she sat watching me while I put on makeup:
Selah: What’s makeup, Mommy?
Me: Well…(thinking how to phrase this without transferring image issues to my 4-year old daughter)…it’s something Mommy wears to feel dressed up at work.
Selah: What color is it? Does it make you lighter or darker?
Me: Neither. Just more even, really. See some of these little spots on my face? Mommy notices them more than anyone else does, so it kind of evens them out.
Me: You know how you’re already beautiful but sometimes when you wear a pretty dress you feel even more beautiful?
Selah: Yeah…
Me: Well, that’s sort of what makeup does for Mommy…I’m already beautiful, but it makes me feel more beautiful. And it’s not the outside that makes us beautiful anyways, right? What makes you beautiful, Sey?
(At this point I’m expecting her to say, “your inside”, because we talk about that – how being kind and nice and loving towards everyone is the most important trait…)
Selah: Well…(thinks about it second)…well, I just am.
Me: You’re totally right.
Funny how a four year old just “gets” grace, right? I mean – of course she’s beautiful – not because of insides or outsides or anything we do or don’t do – but just because she is.
She just is.
Thanks for the lesson, Sey. I’ll try to remember that when I put on makeup for work each morning!
Seeking Joy With the Wheelers 