"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." --Proverbs 31:30
After reading a chapter in a book called Bringing Up Girls while in the tub tonight, I was overwhelmed as a mom! I was about to cry tears. (For me, that's pretty emotional!) :)
The Obsession with Beauty. We've all done it. Wanted to be her. Dressed up as one. Read about them. Sang like them. Princesses. It was actually refreshing to read about Dr. James Dobson's reasonings on why it's okay that our daughter's are into the princess fantasy. Yes, girls want to feel as beautiful (and they ARE!), they can sing, beautiful clothes, handsome suitor, rags to riches and a happily ever after...
This is what struck me. They also model virtue. "In a subtle way, the Disney stories present a wholesome image of virginity until marriage and then lifelong love thereafter. They also promote femininity, kindness, courtesy, the work ethic, service to others..." (Dobson). The thing is, our world is so full of SEXUALLY demoralizing messages and pictures and attitudes that this one avenue for kids, especially girls, is worth enjoying with them! Play. Laugh. Reinact. Plant seeds.
Our girls need us as moms to help them develop a positive self image. It's a huge problem and most of us have been there. Their only hope is for us to change this impeding epidemic.
Looking back to my younger years, I wish I knew how valuable I was. I wish I was told what worth I had and how I could respect myself. I wish I knew how to accept myself and how to say no and mean it when someone wasn't respecting me. Because I deserved that. I was worth that.
Oh, Lord, help us. Help us as moms and husbands to raise this next generation of girls to see themselves through Your eyes. That beauty is not what's to be valued. But that our girls are princesses for life and so are we.
Great post, as usual! Thank you for writing it. I agree! Being a mom of a girl is so much fun because we get to dress them up in pretty things - but it is also so scary because we need to teach them so much more about their self worth. It is a lot to handle, but I know we can do it. It makes me sad to read about you looking back at your younger years. I valued you! I saw you through the Lord's eyes, I still do! I think we have all gone through this a time or 2 in our lives sadly. I feel that my parents did an amazing job at showing me my value as a princess, and I understood it. But, I still lost respect for myself during a year of my life and I wish I could take it back. It scares me to think that even with all of the preparation, morals, and values that we teach our girls, one day they will be grown and make decisions of their own and they might not always be the right ones. But, all that we can do is our best and PRAY! Prayer is what worked to bring me back! So maybe if we start praying against it ahead of time, our girls will never go through a time in their life like that.
ReplyDeleteI meant to respond to your comment sooner, Brooke! Thanks for taking the time! It's so different when your dad not just teaches you, but shows you your value, too. My heart aches for that missing link in my life because there's nothing like it. There's no one like dad. I know our girls will stumble and fall, too, as we did but I have prayed that because their dad's are here in their lives since birth and will always be, that they will get more of that. Praying with you, dear friend!
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