The "In His Image" Pageant

A couple of months ago, I posted a blog about a young lady from my church who was working on her Senior Year Project – an “In His Image” Pageant. What an absolute joy to see a young woman with her head and heart in the right place – desiring to influence her generation with helping others see the true meaning of beauty – inside and out. Her “In His Image” Pageant was to promote girls' inner beauty. Her explanation was “In today's society, with so much promoting women's outer beauty, girls need to know that they are special and beautiful just the way they are.”

Yesterday, Megan’s hard work paid off in royal fashion. Last week she met with the girls to work on the talent portion of her pageant. They decorated the letter “B” which stands for BEAUTIFUL. That’s who they are. Megan continued to impress upon them how beautiful they are. She held the main event at Burgundy Place, a Senior Citizen Apartment Complex, so what a delight for the residents to enjoy seeing those adorable girls. The message rang loud and clear. The girls were made to know THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL.

From the moment I walked in, I could see, and only imagine, the untold hours Megan and her team put in to making this such a special event – not only for the young girls, ages 5 to 10, but to those of us who witnessed the completion of her huge undertaking. The decorations, the signage that conveyed her message in an outstanding way, and the theme “BEAUTIFUL” and we knew that she meant far more than outer beauty. One of the signs read “It is not fancy hair, gold jewelry, or fine clothes that should make you beautiful. No, your beauty should come from inside you – the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. That beauty will never disappear, and it is worth very much to God.” 1 Peter 3:3-4. How’s that for a description of beauty that far surpasses what we hear about beauty in magazines and media?

Megan’s brother was her emcee and I might add, he did a great job – especially with the understanding that these young girls probably had never been before such a large crowd and the mere fact that they were front and center with all eyes on them, he helped them ease into their performance and do a great job.

The pageant's first category was dress wear and those cuties came out with their escorts – either their dads or brothers – some brothers weren’t exactly enthused about their role and you can tell it in some of these photos – LOL! Then, if that weren’t frightening enough, the girls answered questions like: “What is your favorite school subject? What do you want to be when you grow up? What animal do you like the best? What does the word “love” mean to you?” They were so sweet in their innocence and I’m quite sure they’ll never forget what “the stage” is like. Now they’ll have a reference – and it’s not near as bad as they might have thought it would be.

The next category was casual wear and out they came in their cute outfits and this time, on the screen were words that their parents used to describe them. Affirming and loving words that certainly described their daughter’s beauty and character from the inside out.

And finally, it was the sleepwear category and because each girl was a winner, they each received their “BEAUTIFUL” sash and crown.

I like to think that this effort, on Megan’s part, was all about instilling in these precious girls a real truth….that they are beautiful and as long as they know that they were made in the “image of God”, they’ll never, ever doubt it. I pray this seed that Megan planted into their lives over the course of this planning, practicing and debuting will blossom one day into confident, compassionate and caring young women. As a matter of fact, I think we all got that message – we are God’s masterpieces and we are ALL beautiful!

Inner Beauty AND Being a Masterpiece

Yesterday, in my post, I talked about divine set-ups. I like to think that God is always setting us up for divine appointments. Knowing that, we should be keeping our eyes, ears and hearts open to the possibility of those times. He sure has a way of surprising me in the middle of a routine day, with another "aha" moment. My post included the topic of "inner beauty". Then, when I looked at my Facebook "On This Day" posting from years before on my timeline, I had one of those "aha" moments because it confirmed the discussion of "inner beauty".

How appropriate for me to see that post on this day. Here's why! Have you ever started to take a photo with your cell phone and you accidentally pushed "selfie" mode and it flipped around and you got the "up close and personal" view of yourself? Whoa! I did! Who was that ole' gal looking back at me? It couldn't have been me. After all, I dolled this girl up this morning and when I looked in the mirror, it revealed only a "slightly mature" woman, but that selfie was MY mother!!! Okay, God, I get it. You wanted me to see this post because it talked about being YOUR masterpiece. It went like this:

This world will always try to make us think “we're too young or too old; not pretty enough or handsome enough; not rich enough; not thin enough; not talented enough; not smart enough!!: It's time for us to STOP listening to what the world thinks and says. There is only one voice that truly speaks truth, and that ONE is the voice of our Creator Who made us on purpose and in His image.

And He says: "You are my MASTERPIECE -- and I made you JUST RIGHT -- right for the special purposes only you can fulfill! You ARE exactly who I made you to BE! Don't look for the approval of others. I approve you, and that’s all that matters! When you look in the mirror...look at the BEAUTY I made you to be! Now, go make your Dad proud as you take your BEAUTY and make a difference in this world!!"
"You are so beautiful to Me!" -- Love, God

I like to think that when He shows up, it's up to me to give Him the recognition and the honor for the inspiration. So, today, I do, and I thank You, Father, for reminding me that I AM beautiful....inside AND out!

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised." Proverbs 31:30

Coincidences or Divine Appointments?

You've got to love it when a young person is willing to come to a slightly "mature" person ;-) for counsel. You know, they know, the wisdom that's inside them. Very, smart and wise young person. When I received an email from a sweet friend from my church, Megan, asking if I'd look over a project she's doing for her Senior year at Bishop Kelley, I was honored and pleased. She selected the importance of inner beauty for her project. Yes, extremely, wise young lady. But, even better, what seemed to be a simple appointment to review a project, turned into a God-designed appointment. My sweet girl Shawntel Wuerch and the boys were here with me in Tulsa which was perfect timing for both of us to review Megan's project. Sweet opportunity to talk about the inner beauty that God desires from us -- that beauty that comes from within and shines so brightly in our lives. Shawntel is exemplary in both inside and outside beauty. Divine set-up.

Before Megan came to my home, her Mom sent over this photo of Shawntel and Megan ten years ago. Shawntel was the guest speaker for our Women of the Church OfThe Madalene and that night she told her Miss America story -- about her road from a little town, Muldrow, OK to Miss America, how she entered simply to earn scholarship monies to attend college. But God had bigger things in mind for her, and He does for each of us as well. Just like the road to Miss America, with its twists and turns and ups and downs, being the journey God planned for Shawntel, a simple appointment to review a project just may be the "set up" for Megan that started ten years ago when she was excited to have her photo taken with Shawntel. Yesterday, Megan was wearing a Bishop Kelley soccer shirt. Shawntel asked her if she played soccer. Indeed she does, and of all things, her coach is my nephew, Troy Tokarchik. Who knew another little "set-up" to show we're in the same family!

What if each day we started taking note of the coincidences....er.... the divine set-ups, providential circumstances and appointments that come our way that point us in the direction of our God-given destiny? Megan had a project to do. She was impressed to do it on God's definition of beauty. What if this project is the "seed" that Megan is planting for her future? What if what we are doing today are the seeds we're planting for the difference makers and world changers God destined us to be?