Six Steps to a Beautiful Countenance
By Violet Nesdoly
Are you happy with how you look? Or do you
often stand in front of the mirror sighing,
"If only..." If only my forehead
weren't so high or so low; my lips were
fuller, thinner or shaped differently; I
could get rid of these birthmarks and warts;
I had thicker hair; I could afford braces,
contact lenses, a facelift...
Throughout history, woman have admired
and desired beauty. We moderns are no exception.
What defines beauty, however, is constantly
changing.
During the Renaissance, for example, upper-class
north European women valued a high forehead
and went through painful plucking of hairlines
to get it. During the time of Elizabeth
I, the English lady who wanted to be beautiful
copied her queen by powdering her face white
(with lead-based powder no less!) and wearing
a red wig. In the eighteenth century, women
influenced by the likes of Marie-Antoinette
spent several hours at a time at their hair
stylists, coming away with extravagant coiffures
built over horsehair pads or wire cages
(some as high as three feet with springs
built in to adjust the height).
Beauty trends in the past century have
continued to change from the bobbed hair,
pale makeup and scarlet cupid-bow mouth
of the 1920s; to the teased beehives (for
women) and greased pompadours (for men)
of the 50s; to the long-haired, no-makeup
look of the 60s; to the wind-blown, bronze-skinned,
glossy-lipped look of the 70s; to today's
unkempt and multicolored hair accompanied
by facial piercings and body tattoos.
But before you dash from your mirror to
the store, salon, or surgical clinic to
change your face or hair to conform to the
latest fashion, consider looking to another
source for advice on loveliness. The following
six-step Bible facial can be applied to
everyone, with results guaranteed at any
age:
1.
|
Start
with a deep cleansing. ("I will
sprinkle clean water on you and you
will be clean...I will give you a
new heart and put a new spirit in
you..." - Ezekiel 36:25-27)
|
2.
|
As
a foundation, cover the entire face
with the wholesome attitude of your
inner life. ("Your beauty...
should be that of your inner self,
the unfading beauty of a gentle and
quiet spirit which is of great worth
in God's sight..." - I Peter
3:3-4)
|
3.
|
Apply
wisdom to soften facial lines. ("Wisdom
brightens a man's [and woman's!] face
and changes its hard appearance."
- Ecclesiastes 8:1)
|
4.
|
Contour
with sorrow to emphasize your compassionate
features. ("Sorrow is better
than laughter, because a sad face
is good for the heart." - Ecclesiastes
7:3)
|
5.
|
Highlight
with happiness. ("A happy heart
makes the face cheerful..." -
Proverbs 15:13)
|
6.
|
Maintain
with a diet high in yieldedness to
the Holy Spirit for continued God-shine.
("And we, who with unveiled faces
all reflect the Lord's glory, are
being transformed into his likeness
with ever-increasing glory which comes
from the Lord, the Spirit." -
2 Corinthians 3:18)
|
Stick with the above routine and your countenance
will be beautiful no matter what the features
of your face or style of your hair. Best
of all - this beauty is permanent; it will
remain even when gray hair, wrinkles, and
age spots have come to stay.
Violet Nesdoly lives in
Surrey, B.C. She works with words in both
of her day jobs - medical transcription
and freelance writing. She has had fiction,
non-fiction and poetry published in a variety
of magazines, Sunday school papers and web
sites. Visit her on the web at: members.shaw.ca/vnesdoly
or at her blog "promptings": vnesdoly.blogspot.com