The Most Beautiful Woman....

This is an exerpt from a daily devotional that I enjoy. I find the simplicity of it graceful and love the way it made me stop and think for a moment. The one thing I certainly try to stress to my daughter is that you never decide how you feel about a person by the color of their skin or by their appearances... It is always most importantly what is on the inside that counts. I believe that if you try, you can find something beautiful in almost anything. Enjoy this- and I hope it changes the way you see beauty. ~S.

A successful beauty product company asked the people in a large city to send pictures along with a brief letter about the most beautiful women they knew. Within a few weeks, thousands of letters were delivered to the company.

One letter in particular caught the attention of the employees, and soon it was handed to the company president. The letter was written by a young boy who was obviously from a broken home and living in a run-down neighborhood. With spelling corrections, an excerpt from his letter read, "This beautiful woman lives down the street from me. I visit her every day. She makes me feel like the most important kid in the world. We play checkers and she listens to my problems. She understands me and when I leave she always yells out the door that she's proud of me."

The boy ended his letter saying, "This picture shows you that she is the most beautiful woman. I hope I have a wife as pretty as her."

Intrigued by the letter, the president asked to see this woman's picture. His secretary handed him a photograph of a smiling, toothless woman, well advanced in years, sitting in a wheelchair. Sparse gray hair was pulled back in a bun. Wrinkles that formed deep furrows on her face were somehow diminished by the twinkle in her eyes.

"We can't use this woman," explained the president, smiling. "She would show the world that our products aren't necessary to be beautiful."