Strolling down the gravel on a lovely fall day a few
weeks ago I was imagining what it would be like to
be blind. I was trying to take mental snapshots of
all the beauty around me so that if I ever were to
lose my sight I would be able to pull up the pictures
and enjoy them from memory.

Then, because I am built to look for object lessons, I
began to think of Princess Daughter and what I could
teach her from this train of thought.

Princess Daughter is a lovely little girl. In fact, I think she
is beautiful. But beauty is very fleeting. It changes definition
with every new commercial.

If I were blind, I would not be able to see her pretty self, but
I would still be able to hear whether or not Hattie had inner
beauty by listening to the way she talked. I could catch the
tone of her voice; I would be able to judge her attitude and
words to see if she was filled with a loveliness that is fulfilling
and lasting.

And so, after I got home, I talked to her about these things.
I let her know that it is the eternal that she needs to be
developing most of all. I reminded her of I Peter 3:3,4.

Do not let your adornment be merely outward--
arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on
fine apparel--rather let it be the hidden person
of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of
a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious
in the sight of God.

Did it sink in? Maybe not yet, but she is still a young and
very moldable piece of clay in the Maker's hands. And I think,
just maybe, as she is hanging upside down from a branch 20
feet up, these things come into her little mind from time to time
and she ponders them. Cute little monkey.