thoughts: what does beauty mean to me?

a well used set of scriptures
a journal full of thoughts, as silly as they may be
a girl who faithfully prays to Heavenly Father
a friend who is always genuine
a carefully maintained budget
a man's wedding band that he still wears at the age of 75
a woman who learns how to cook
a man who cooks for his wife even though he has very little skill
chapstick
a well documented life full of snapshots and home videos
a note on your mirror saying he loves you
freshly folded laundry
the suns rays peaking through your blinds
a crisp cherry red leaf in october
a well crafted essay, fresh out of the printer
a warm breeze
jumping into a pool of water
the first frost of winter
a missionary who serves faithfully
forgiveness
the line of traffic going home at the end of a work day
a semester completed
taking the garbage out
old people holding hands
a card in the mail
the embrace of a young child
the moments you realize you got the best family in the world
a well-worn blanket
a loaf of banana bread
an old sweatshirt and jeans on a cool autumn day
a girl married in the temple after a lifetime of preparation
an honest answer, even when it is difficult
motherhood and fatherhood


Making a beautiful life has always been more important to me than making a life full of achievement and accomplishments. Today as I wrote in my journal, I tried to give a glimpse of what beauty meant to me and why it was important. To me, beauty only comes from the genuine in our lives. It comes from those things that are real and have taken the most work, preparation, and make up the best stories.

It may seem strange that things like "a carefully maintained budget" appear on this list. But this is my thought: a wife that goes without new cute clothes and carefully plans family meals so that one day she and her husband can give their children a home with financial security and opportunities to grow, that is true beauty to me.

A man's wedding band? To me, a man's wedding band is much more than a metal ring. An old, scratched wedding band tells stories of patience, of trial, of unselfish service, of long nights and early mornings. Hopefully a man's wedding band says that he got it, he realized what it was all about. His once sexy bride became an old wrinkly woman who he has grown with all of these years. He knows her faults, trials, fears and insecurities, but that hasn't stopped them from growing together and loving each other. His wedding band tells stories of disobedient children who he loved and guided with his wife so that one day, they too could have what he has. It tells of work, day in and day out. To me, a mans wedding band is absolutely beautiful.

I definitely didn't sit down to plan this post, and it started as a very personal journal entry, but each and every one of those things on that list has its own story and its own significance. My list is probably not the same as anyone else's list, and it definitely isn't all-encompassing, but hopefully each of us can take five minutes to just think about what is beautiful to you and thank God for the lives we have been given.