"Am I pretty, Mommy?"

She's been into princesses lately.  Obsessed, really.  She watches the movies, she reads the books, she puts on her tutu and dances around the kitchen and announces to us "I am a princess, and Daddy is the prince!!"  She is ALL. GIRL.

Lately she has taken to standing in front of the full-length mirror, brushing her hair and making different faces at herself.  Yesterday I walked by and she said to me, "am I pretty, Mommy?"
"Oh yes, Abby, you are my beautiful girl, and I love you."
"Okay," she said.

Her question stopped me in my tracks, though.  Where in the world did that come from?? Is she just repeating back things she's heard me say, or is she really beginning to wonder about her looks? And even if she doesn't really "mean" it this time, how long before she really does?  How long until she thinks differently about the clothes she chooses in the morning, or the way she fixes her hair, or, (yikes!!) makeup!!! Or her body- those chubby yummy knees I love to kiss, and her sweet belly I tickle, and her face that is so beautiful to me it takes my breath away sometimes- when will she start despising these, too?
Or, how can I shepherd her well so that she doesn't end up struggling in these ways (or at least, struggles less?) My tendency is to want to shelter her completely from all the ways the world speaks about beauty. I could take away all the Disney movies, get the princesses out of the house, and heck, let's just get rid of the television all together! That thing is the devil!!

But that isn't realistic, or even healthy.  I can't shelter her forever, and someday she is going to need to know how to interpret the world around her, and all it's mess, for herself.  So maybe Jesus has something more for my parenting.  Maybe He wants to redeem the broken ways the world speaks about beauty and give us a whole picture of who he has made us to be.

Maybe Cinderella can teach us that though she was pretty on the outside for sure, her looks weren't what made her truly beautiful. Prince Charming had a lot of other women to choose from and they must have all been just as pretty as Cinderella.  What made her stand out from all the rest was her kind and gentle spirit.  And how she served her stepmother and stepsisters with a cheerful heart even though they oppressed her.  And how she cared for the lowliest of creatures- the mice and the barn dog.

And while I teach my girls about the qualities that Cinderella had that made her beautiful, I can also teach them about where the power comes from to have these qualities.  Because I can't make myself more beautiful.  Try as I might, I just can't make myself kinder, or gentler, or more just, or more giving.  I always come up short.

There was One who did all these things perfectly, and who knew from the beginning that despite my best efforts I would fall short, but who put his Spirit in me to give me the power to life a life of beauty for Him.  And I can teach my girls about Him, and how he is making them more and more beautiful as they trust in Him.