Celebrating Other's Beauty

  I wrote about going to Costco (the Costco AGAIN post) and being blessed and inspired by a stunning girl and her incredibly sweet children. This Costco is in a different town then I live in and I had no idea who this girl was. I wrote the post about her and put it up one evening and the next day on facebook I saw a picture of her children in my news feed! It was sort of crazy. Turns out this lovely one has FIVE children and anyway they are all beautiful gems. I felt that it was something I could not ignore...the fact that she had blessed me so much just by being at Costco that day...I had not gone up to her at Costco and told her because I felt to insecure. So I ended up writing her and telling her on facebook.
   It got me thinking about all the women I see that I find so beautiful. Beauty blesses me. It is everywhere in many shapes and forms but often when I am out getting food for my family I will see someone that glows just a little more than others in that moment. I can't explain why it uplifts me as it does...but it just does!  Last week it was an older lady at Superstore ~ she was probably in her sixties ~ she had a long light mustard colored knitted sweater, a long necklace, jeans that were not too skinny, amazing short boots and a great hair cut with her naturally grey hair. She looked incredible. She was so stylish and trendy and elegant! I didn't compliment her. Why?  I just felt too insecure.
  So often I will be with one of my friends and notice something so beautiful about them. However I don't voice my thoughts. I let them slip past and move on. I want that to change. My friend Marie has amazing hair. It is this beautiful brown and its curly and she has grown it longer lately and she sometimes just braids the front and it look so great! I THINK the thoughts of how amazing it looks....but forget to say it. Or my friend Emily ~ she has a way with accessories and makeup that is absolutely stunning and her hair is amazing too. She lives across the road from me so I see her often....and do I say it enough? That she inspires me and that her beauty is a gift? There is my friend Heather who loves bright colors. Usually she has something super bright on...nail polish or a sweater or an undershirt or just something that is neon and happy and cheerful. She has this style that says happy. I LOVE it and have I EVER told her that? I don't know. My friend Laura can be in work out pants, gum boots and a simple sweater, she tells me she has not showered in days...and every.single.time. she looks like a model. It blows my mind. She has mile long eye lashes and the sweetest smile. All three of my sisters have hair that anyway would want, like really badly. Their hair is amazing and all of their smiles light up their eyes in this really incredibly illuminating way. My friend Rachelle has delicate petite arms and wrists. They are so graceful. She dances so expressively and her voice is soothing and pretty! My cousin Sharon...I have always admired her features, her perfect body that looks incredible in everything she wears and her style that is both delicate and strong. My friend Shanda...her smile is the best and her hair so smooth and glossy...even in the most humid environment (she lives in Jamaica)... and she is another one with beautiful arms and hands AND she makes me laugh so hard. My friend Bethany's eyes and the fact her skin is always natural and clear. She never wears makeup and I LOVE that about her. I also love her style. he always has some sort of purse or bag she has made that blows your mind. I have probably never told them any of this.
     A couple days ago my sister randomly complimented my hands. Once when I was quite young someone told me I had alligator hands. For whatever reason that stuck in my mind and all through life I have looked at my hands as alligatorish :) She really blessed me by saying that sweet and kind though that flashed through her mind. I have had a couple random compliments given to me through my life. One was when I was young and an elderly man told me that my freckles were angels kisses and that they were beautiful. Another time an elderly East Indian man told me my hair looked like fire. The way he said it...was like he was in awe of my hair...and I never forgot it. One time another person complimented me on my beautiful smile and how it lit up my face and another person told me how much they liked my voice when I talked... that it was pleasant... Sometimes it is the random compliments from strangers that bless you the most. They dont KNOW you and they didn't have to take the time to tell you that you captivated them for a moment, but they DID.
  I have friends that have a A LOT of beauty inside them. Their spirits are kind and their hearts giving. However they ALL blow me away by their beauty. I wanted to say that if you see someone out there who blows you away by their beauty...consider letting them know. If your heart is in the right place that will come through and it will come out the right way. They may really need that little pick me up from a total stranger (if that is indeed what you are) or you as their dear friend. It may be words that stick with them the rest of their life.
 I hope I can do that with more confidence and not just through a facebook post. It's real life that matters more.