charm and beauty

So this is the week of Amy and Joshua's wedding - woo! Somehow it seems like a lot of the preparations really are falling into place, there are just so many details that go into such an event!

For example, it seems like there's been an all out multi-week project on getting together the right dresses, shoes, hair, and makeup for the big day (and that's just my and Mom's efforts, I can't imagine all the decisions that Amy has had to make in this area!). And for those of us (like me!) who tend to go with a more quick natural look anyways, this is no small task! Countless trips to various stores, days of experimenting in front of the mirror (where I've practically memorized those hair magazines!), and no end of gels, creams, and sprays later we've arrived at a state of... well, not Hellenic beauty, but at least of satisfaction with how our exterior shall be.

Tonight it was mascara, eye liner, and eye shadow (pale and dark green were a promising combination). But as I ooed and awed over my reflection at the end of the day, somehow the words of King Lemuel's mother came haunting back over me, "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." (Prov 31:30)

Bam. There it is, a straight needle thrust into the big balloon of earthy beauty. And I bet that it burst King Lemuel's bubble on some occasions as well. Here was perhaps a most eligible bachelor on a career path towards a throne, and I'm sure some very lovely ladies crossed his wake during the process. This one had such pretty eyes, and that one, such a sweet winning smile. And when Lemuel's heart began to race, I can just hear his mother's voice sweeping in over his fancies,
"Charm is deceitful, Lemuel, beauty is vain. Don't look at her eyeshadow, son, or that wonderful smile. If that's all you love about her, it will not last. Just a few years and her face will age, and with it all the charm and beauty that you like now so well. But let me tell you, my son, what is a lasting quality you should look for in a wife - godliness, a woman who fears the Lord. Take it from me, that wife will do you good and not harm her whole life."

Phew! We're not told how Lemuel initially swallowed those words, but they're not always easy for me to get my head around either. Against the screams of this culture to be a woman of gels and creams and sprays, a woman of exteriors, King Lemuel's mother shifts the focus in the exact opposite direction. The only kind of woman that ultimately matters is the woman of a certain interior quality - the one who fears God. No curler, or makeup, or hairspray can even touch it.


And amidst these meditations, I do believe there truly are seasons for special adornment. If a wedding is indeed to be a living picture of the great wedding to come (where the bridal party will be resplendent beyond imagination!) then surely it is right for earthy brides and attendants to celebrate with beauty and comeliness.

Yet I hope that this weekend amidst satin and diamonds, and beauty and charm, that the guests come away with something more than just pictures of prettiness. I hope they catch a special glow around the bride and groom that only grace can give. Amy and Joshua are two beautiful people, but the saving grace that surrounds their lives is something more altogether: piercing, dazzling, divinely beautiful.

For that day, as Joshua takes his bride, they will both be God's bride too. And when He looks at His spouse and sees them through Christ, He looks on them with love and His words are immeasurably sweet,
"You are altogether beautiful, my love
there is no flaw in you." (Song of Songs 4:7)