WHAT MAKES A WOMAN BEAUTIFUL?

If you believe the magazines and media that assault our senses at every turn, you will think that the right makeup, the latest fashions, and the perfect figure are what makes a woman beautiful. You're not supposed to notice that most of the picture perfect women on the ads that vie for our attention from every imaginable direction are actually not perfect at all but have been air-brushed - photographically altered to look the way they look!

Our society is so focused on youth and outward beauty that it's difficult for us, as women living in this world and surrounded by its values, not to begin to measure ourselves by the world's standards. God has never intended His daughters to be conformed to the standards of this world. He wants us to be transformed by His truth as we renew our minds through His Word. (Romans 12:2)

His Word tells us very plainly that outer beauty is fleeting - it's a temporary thing. So why are we even surprised when we look at new wrinkles and age spots and more gray hair in our mirrors? Beauty is fleeting. Do wrinkles matter? Do age spots and blemishes matter? Does gray or thinning hair matter? Not to God they don't! The same scripture that reminds us beauty is temporary (Proverbs 31:30) assures us that a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.

I saw a woman who fears the Lord and witnessed Proverbs 31:30 in action the first time I saw Esther Burroughs.
I can't remember the exact year it was - somewhere around 1996, I think. A friend and I drove to Nashville to attend LifeWay's Women's Ministry Forum. A number of women were on the program. LifeWay was showcasing all their latest authors and newest women's publications. Most of the platform personalities were young, beautiful, "30-40 somethings." All of them were dynamic speakers - women who were making a difference for God through their respective areas of expertise and ministry. Beth Moore was on the program and Beth was really the only one I was truly excited about hearing.

But then Esther Burroughs came to the platform. Chronologically old enough to be the mother of most of the other women on the dais, Esther's age and silver hair was quickly insignificant. Or. Maybe it was VERY significant. It spotlighted an added dimension to the things she shared - a wisdom that comes only from the years of experience it took to acquire it.

Now don't misunderstand what I am saying. Esther was outwardly beautiful - as you can see from her picture. She was tiny, petite, well-dressed, and perfectly coiffed, with just the right amount of poise and confidence. But what was inherently special about Esther was the radiance that shone from her spirit.

We glimpsed her fun-loving mischievous side immediately. She began by sharing the adventure of her flight mishaps from her home (then in Florida) to Nashville. We were roaring with laughter when she recounted the events surrounding being bumped into - rudely and without apology - not even so much as an "excuse me ma'am" proffered - by a nationally known television broadcaster. She said, "I wouldn't dream of telling you his name - but his initials are" . . . and then she grinned a wicked little grin and naughtily whispered into the microphone . . . "Chris Wallace." I'm telling you, I was rolling on the floor laughing before ROFL was even an expression. I'll have to admit - in all the years since, I've never seen Chris Wallace on television without remembering Esther's story about him. I guess it would behove us all to remember we never know who might be watching when we're being rude and arrogant ... Hmm. Maybe I need to remember that next time I'm in the "10 items or less" line at Walmart and the lady in front of me has 34 items and two screaming kids. But. Wait. That's another story. I digress.

Of all the speakers I was privileged to hear at that conference (even my precious Beth), Esther's is the message - the ONLY message - I remember all these many years later. She spoke that day about Jesus being the Living Water that bubbles up inside us and how we should splash the living water on others as we go about our daily lives. Her message was based on Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman (John 4) and was masterfully taught. But she gave the biblical account expression in example after example - some funny - some heartbreakingly poignant - of how we can share Jesus in the every day moments of life. The warmth of her storytelling kept me totally involved with the facts she was sharing and imprinted the message not only in my mind, but on my heart as well. [This message was later enlarged and published as a book, Splash the Living Water, New Hope publishers, 2006.]

I watched Esther. I listened. I could literally see the living water of Jesus bubbling up in her. I could see it in the sparkle of her eyes. I could hear it in the lilt of her voice. And. I could feel it splashing from the stage where she spoke all the way out into the audience where I sat. I watched. I listened. And I thought, "The Spirit of Christ is alive and well in this woman. HE is radiating a beauty from her that is absolutely intoxicating."

And then. On my knees, I admitted, "Father, I long to be that kind of woman!" What about you, sweet sister? Do you want to be the kind of woman whose beauty only grows brighter with age? I sure do!

Perhaps it's time to let Jesus pour His living water into our lives until we are overflowing and can't help but splash some of it out on others.