I put on my beautiful dress on and all set for church. No, but wait! One more very important thing I can’t forget. My make-up case, the one that’s in a book and that I can practice on the girls’ faces in the book. But I cheated a little cause I usually practice on myself instead. Why would I want to use up the make up for those papers anyway? How sad to waste those beautiful colors when I can make myself look beautiful instead. Mom says that beauty comes from within. It’s a character thing, not just with the clothes that you wear and the make up that you put on. She says I’m just beautiful as I am. Only grown ups sometimes need a little make up to give them a little more color and shine. But does that mean that I’m more beautiful on the inside than Mom is or than older women are? I don’t get it.
Mom says it takes work to be beautiful, so I’m getting to work on this make-up practice. Maybe by the time I’m allowed to wear it every day, I will have mastered the art. It is like an artist, having to choose from this whole palette of colors, making sure no colors clash. I remember the first time I put on make up. I thought I looked beautiful but now thinking back about it, I think I looked more scary than anything. Yes, I’ve been practicing, you see. Well, mainly on my friends. Oh, my poor friends. I think when they got home, their moms must have told them to go straight to the bathroom to wash it all off.
Oh, yes, back to my getting ready for church now. After pretty clothes, make-up, the most important thing, I am told, is my inside beauty (like I said before). I’m sure I have more to learn on that one. I don’t quite grasp the whole thing yet. But I shoot up a little prayer to God, “I’ve worked hard to be beautiful on the outside, but only You can make me beautiful on the inside. Please give me lots of inside beauty for today as I meet all my friends at church. I want them to see that it’s your beauty that matters most of all. Amen.”