I was reading this post by Kristen about aging gracefully and although we’re 15 years apart, I felt that I can really relate to “aging”. LOL

 

I know it sounds funny but I do think I’m growing old. When I celebrated my birthday this year, I felt like I was little far from my teenage years and college days already. Old. Maybe because when I was 19, I thought 25 was old so now I think about these things.

But slowly, I begin realize that beauty grows in age. The more we get older, the more beautiful we could get. Because time enables you to grow in grace and character. It feels so good to look back on my younger days and find that I’m somehow far from who I was back then. And God has changed me so much. Taught me so much. Brought me to places I’ve never even dared to imagine.

I sometimes fear growing older. Because I’m afraid to be defined by numbers. Because even thought I’m 25, I’m still a child at heart. Only a little wiser. I’m also afraid to grow wrinkles. I’m afraid to look old. But then again, the more years we live, like how my sister Ava always say it, the more we see God’s faithfulness in our lives. The more  wrinkles and white hair we have, the more we see His hand moving and His purpose unfolding.

Yes, I want to remain young for a long time (no wrinkles, no age spots). but I also want to grow~deep within. And growing that way matters to my heart more than keeping younger looking skin but without character.

And so I don’t mind being 25 or to be called old if you want to call me that. Because the more years I live, the more I could celebrate His goodness and witness His grace.

 

…I have upheld since you were conceived,

and have carried since your birth.

Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you.

I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

Isaiah 46:5

Ava and I were both up till midnight tonight ( well, she`s asleep now but I`m still wide awake). We were watching on YouTube together, looking for something beautiful both of us haven't watched yet. It was a really pretty night. We haven`t done this in a long time.


We ended up reading on Kuya Kevin`s blog about modesty (aka. dressing up and acting appropriately) and  Ava and I read it together, although I`ve read it a couple of times before.

I found that I really don`t get so tired of reading topics on modesty. Not that I`m a fanatic or anything, but I find myself needed to reminded as well.  I know I write about modesty and I encourage girls to dress and act modestly but that doesn`t exempt me from sometimes wanting {aka. being tempted} to wear that cute little mini skirt on a bright summer morning. Esp. when all the other girls are also wearing them.

Sometimes I really pull that little thing out my closet and attempt to wear it. And a battle in mind begins. Protecting my brothers gets least in my mind. Then I do the Hallelujah test {raising your hands and see how high the skirt goes up}, fail it, and get reminded of God`s desire to make me… and see me pure. That He intends me to be a humble, modest and godly woman.  Not to draw attention to myself and to be affirmed by the world of my beauty, but to set my heart focused on Him, because my beauty is in Him... in my obedience, humility, and desire to please Him. Then I put that little thing back in the closet, right where it`s been hiding.

This is a really good reminder today. Thank you, Ava for the linkie!

Sometimes, when I see a girl provocatively dress, I say to myself she probably doesn`t know that 101 guys are going to devour her in their minds today. But then again, maybe she does…

To be honest, I don`t know the truth—the truth why she chooses to dress the way she does, the way she chooses to walk, the way she chooses to act… I don`t know…
Because I`ve never sat  down with a girl and asked her, “Why?”

This was what struck me the most.

If a guy would ask us “Why?”, what are we gonna answer him?


A Little word from Paul.

And I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it.
                                                                                   1 Timothy 2:9-10

Our value is not on how the world affirms and accepts us. It is on what goes on inside that heart of hearts. It is on the God who approves of us. The God who wants to make us pure rather than popular.  Who desires to make us a godly example. Holy and exemplary, and full of love.

That little mini skirt would give a few more stares, but wouldn`t do anything beautiful to our hearts or to the men around us {esp. to those who are trying hard to be godly men}.And it only leaves us feeling more empty.

Doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it…

Let me repeat it again.



We become beautiful when when we do something beautiful for God. Not when we do something for the applause of the people around us.

Let`s look up on God and ask us to reveal how He sees us. Let`s ask us what He sees in us that He died on the cross for us, for Him to love us.

And I`m sure, Lord, whatever you see in us, it is that we are worth your love and you giving up life for us.

Thank you, Lord for seeing with all that love.

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.   Proverbs 31:10

I haven’t been married or engaged and I’m laughing at myself writing about becoming a good wife, ‘cause I’m not yet a wife and I don’t know how it is like to be one. ;)

 

But even though a young lady is yet so far from getting married, she can heed the lessons from the Bible and apply what she can at this moment in her life, right?

 

A Treasure

The writer of these proverb started by asking where to find a wife of noble character and she is worth far more than rubies. Far more than rare and costly gems.

 

And so I wondered, is it already hard to find a wife of noble character even in those days? How about now, where are the godly ladies? Is a lady with noble character a rare find?

 

The Ladies of This Generation

In our time, girls are cool if they are “”sexy”  or “not so feminine”. You’re cool if you wear those super short shorts, the fancy make up, the ultra high heels. Or perhaps if you're the other way around. Escape an exploding building like Angelina Jolie or sweep through a group of bad guys with your flying kick like Michelle Yeoh.

 

Girls are cool if they multi-task. If they’re paid with hefty paychecks. Drive expensive cars. Get a high corporate position. Even if they don’t know how to make the right decisions. Even if they rely on drugs and alcohol for comfort. Even if they don’t know how to take care of their kids. Don’t know how to cook. Don’t know how get their hands dirty working around the house.

 

They’re cool. People look up to them. Even if they don’t know that what’s on the inside is far more valuable than what is on the outside.

 

Caught With The Hype

I admit that when I was younger, I wanted to be a Super Girl. Climb the corporate ladder. Be the good-looking girl in town. Get rich and drive expensive cars. And kick the way Michelle Yeoh does it ( No kidding!!)   I thought I’d be valuable if I am all those while totally forgetting to look after what goes on inside my heart.

 

I didn’t care about the mundane tasks. I didn’t care about how to become a real lady. I was so caught up with ambition…I wasn’t looking after my heart.

 

Will you rise up to your calling?

God is calling us to be real women who have noble hearts. Women who value our character more than we value beauty.

 

I pray that we will all learn to stand up against the flow of the world, that we would rise up to become godly examples for our generation. That we would become the “treasures” that are hard to find; to reach girls and tell them about the beauty of having a relationship with God that gives birth to noble character.

 

We are called to become women who fear the Lord and embrace our femininity and our feminine roles the way God designed it to be. Women who are nurturing, and caring. Women of wisdom who knows that we’re more than what the world tells us to be.

 

A woman of noble character….She is worth far more than rubies.

Every girl wants to become a beautiful woman. We talk about beauty regimens, beauty tips, and fashion shows. Some say beauty comes from within so we study hard, educate ourselves and try to become women of good character.

 

But the Bible says that we are called not just to become beautiful or useful. We are called to become godly women who fears the Lord. Womanhood is not just about looking  after our figure, our skin, or our ways. Womanhood is more than just about doing noble things and inspiring others to do the same. We are called to become women who  who are pleasing the Lord and are living His purpose for our lives and for our generation. Women who knows our value on God so we need not seek security and acceptance by beautifying the way we look or the way we walk. Women who anchors our life on God, thereby reflecting His glory and shining His light.

 

And I believe that beauty naturally springs from a heart that desires and lives to please the One who created and loves us.

 

Join me in this series as I study Proverbs 30 and learn about what God says about beautiful womanhood and pray for us ladies to become women who fears the Lord and does His will.

 

“Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting,

a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”