A Beautiful Heart

The devil has been working hard to steal my joy lately. I look in the mirror and the first thing that comes to my mind are negative thoughts. As I interact with my kids and other people through the day the negative comments keep running through my mind.
Tonight our Bible story with our kids was the story of Samuel anointing David. My husband and I talked with our kids after reading the story about how God looks at what is inside us. When our heart is full of the Holy Spirit, what comes out is God pleasing and makes us a beautiful person to him.
After we read the Bible story, my daughter shared a devotional story that she thought fit, too. It was based on Matthew 6:25-34. The devotion described a girl sorting through her closet, worrying about what to wear to church. We connected that with the Bible story because some times we get so caught up in worrying about how we look that we forget what is truly important to God.
It didn't really hit me until an hour and a half later that God was speaking to me, too. He doesn't look at the outside fluff. He sees my heart. When my heart is full of self-loathing and anger, there isn't room for Jesus and his love to shine through. I can't be a beautiful person when I focus only on my appearance. But, when I do focus on making my heart pleasing, the way I take care of my appearance is a way to glorify God.

Dear Father,
Forgive me for worrying about what I look like on the outside more than what my heart looks like to you. See Jesus in my heart so that I may be your beautiful daughter. Amen.