All Natural Beauty!

     My husband, Nat, retired in January after 25 years as a fireman. With more time on his hands, he has gone back to one of his favorite hobbies, woodworking. Believe me, I'm not complaining, I have plenty of projects for him! His latest project is a beautiful farmhouse table, and I've watched him agonize over every detail of this table for the past week. Every detail and dimension had to be just right or the table wouldn't function properly.

           Yesterday, he started one of the final steps before the "fun" work (as I call it) could begin....sanding. It's amazing what the table looked like after this step! With all the rough edges gone, it was so smooth and beautiful; an all natural masterpiece!

     Well, today was the day that the next step could begin, you know, the fun stuff.....staining. I scoured Pinterest for days looking for just the right finish idea to use on our new piece of furniture and I decided on a dark stain top and a white distressed bottom. But as I was getting dressed for the day, the Lord began to speak to my heart about the table and I thought I'd share it with you.
     We, as women, get so excited to buy new clothes, shoes, make-up and accessories to  "doctor up" our exterior. We spend untold amounts of money on these purchases to make ourselves feel better and to make others believe that we're more beautiful than we feel on the inside. When in reality, what really matters, is what's underneath! God spent untold amounts of time on every detail and dimension of who we are. We are sensitive, compassionate, loving, loyal, smart, witty, creative beings, made in his image......which means we're absolutely beautiful!
     Let's stop putting so much emphasis on the exterior and start accepting ourselves and our bodies for who we are. I'm not saying you can't "doctor yourself up" any longer (I love TJ Maxx as much as the next person!) but let's do it for the right reason. We don't need to hide underneath the facade of perfection, but instead, let the awesomeness of our all natural beauty shine through for the world to see! And I believe as we begin to accept and love ourselves, other women will take notice and make a step in that direction too. Making a difference in our own lives can make a huge difference in someone else's!

By the way, here's a picture of the table with the stain on top. Tomorrow, I go shopping for the paint for the bottom!

Have a great day!

Wendy