Your father came home with a huge smile on his face after taking you and your brothers to the mall, so I could have a few quiet moments to myself.

At first, I thought his smile was because he loves his family and life so much. Then he said, “Just wait until I tell you what happened to your daughter!”

Uh-oh. 

Usually when your father says something like that, and he’s laughing, it was either really bad or really hilarious.

He told me you were holding his hand and held tightly onto your brother, so you wouldn’t lose each other. 

You caught a young man’s eye, about seven years old I believe (a little too old for you at your tender age of five). 

He locked eyes with you, tried to smile and get your attention, and when you smiled back at him he tripped over a store mannequin and completely fell flat on his face.

His mother and grandmother were there to help their boy, while they laughed with him at this sweet moment, and Dad said you waved and made sure he was OK.

You’re beautiful, my dear daughter. You were gifted in this way. 

But there is something you need to know.

Beauty doesn’t come from your deep blue eyes or flawless skin. 

Although the media will tell you about the clothes you need to wear, and the food you need to eat, there will be days when you’re going to hate your body or something about yourself.

I never want you to base your worth on your looks alone. As your mother, I can promise you your body is going to change about a thousand times, even after you have children. This is part of life, and all you can do is love these moments and yourself.

However, I want to share with you how you can be truly beautiful, forever.

Beauty comes from the smile you’re always wearing and, in your willingness, to share with others. You’re beautiful as I watch you cuddle with your younger brothers on the couch and read books with them.

You’re beautiful when you gently touch the small of my back as I’m hiding in the kitchen because your brothers screaming for the day has me crying. You ask me if I’m OK.

Beauty is an act, rather than our looks. It’s being able to stir something within another person, a realization or a feeling that they’re someone worthwhile.

You do this as you take the time to be a friend to the lonely. To say hello to someone you don’t know. To reach down so you can lift another person up. 

And above all, to wrap your arms around someone and let them know they’re not alone in this crazy world. 

True beauty comes from years of selfless service and sharing this love with others. And your beauty only grows with each act of love.

There will be many young men who will cross your path, and I’m sure they’ll run into a few things again when you smile at them too. 

But I want you to remember your value doesn’t come from your looks but is embedded in your heart. And the more you share this with those around you, the more beautiful you will become.

So God Made a Mother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available now!

Order Now

Check out our new Keepsake Companion Journal that pairs with our So God Made a Mother book!

Order Now
So God Made a Mother's Story Keepsake Journal

Micah Klug

Micah Klug loves being a mother and helping other women love their home, faith and family by living simply without losing their quality of life or sanity. She writes at www.HomeFaithFamily.com where you can download your free marriage ebook, “Love Again: 100+ Conversation Questions to Strengthen Your Relationship.”

This is the Definition of Beauty I will Teach my Daughters

In: Beauty, Kids
This is the Definition of Beauty I will Teach my Daughters www.herviewfromhome.com

The moment I found out I was having a girl I put my hands over my mouth in disbelief. I was happy yet horrified. Hear me out. I struggled with eating disorders for over two-decades. Not that boys can’t get eating disorders, too, but the pressures out there on a woman’s physical appearance is daunting. My biggest fear is that my daughters will struggle because they have the eating disorder gene. I know how horrible and all-consuming this illness can be, how much time I wasted, how many experiences I missed, so it is a pretty horrifying reality. This does...

Keep Reading

Dear Mothers of Tween Girls, There’s So Much at Stake

In: Beauty, Child, Motherhood, Tween
Dear Mothers of Tween Girls, There's So Much at Stake www.herviewfromhome.com

“We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light.” – Evelyn Mary Dunbar My daughter and her bestie chatter away in the back of my van. I’m not paying attention to every word of the conversation, but mommy ears can always tune in when necessary. When I hear something about a website about beauty, the mommy ears instantly focus my wandering mind on their conversation. These two have both recently been gifted their first phones. Of course, with that not only comes increased responsibility for the...

Keep Reading

The Message Our Teenage Girls Are Getting About Their Bodies Can Break a Mother’s Heart

In: Beauty, Kids
The Message Our Teenage Girls Are Getting About Their Bodies Can Break a Mother's Heart www.herviewfromhome.com

Four days of gray skies leave me hungry for the light. I make my way into our backyard when the sun finally appears, where my four kids are digging in dirt, climbing trees, or just absorbing the warmth the way I hope to. Reclining on the grass, I pull up my shirt and expose my pale, post-pregnancy stomach, enjoying the surprising warmth on a February day. My oldest daughter, now a tween who is becoming less little girl and more stuck-in-the-middle with each new day, comes over and lies down beside me. At first glance she’s simply mimicking my pose,...

Keep Reading

Learning to Embrace Beauty Instead of Pursuing Perfection

In: Beauty, Journal
Learning to Embrace Beauty Instead of Pursuing Perfection www.herviewfromhome.com

The other day I saw a photo of myself standing near a river with my daughter and unbidden, the thought popped into my head. “When on earth did my arms get so big? Look at the size of my thighs! Gosh I’ve gotten fat.” I didn’t see my smiling daughter or the beautiful scenery or how happy we looked together. I just saw imperfections that no one else would notice or care about. I try to never say them out loud, but the fact is, the words we speak to ourselves are powerful. Especially as mothers and role models. Recently,...

Keep Reading

The World Will Challenge Your Beauty; This Is How You Overcome It

In: Beauty, Journal
The World Will Challenge Your Beauty; This Is How You Overcome It www.herviewfromhome.com

I want my daughter to be beautiful, like me. There, I said it. I want my daughter to be beautiful, like me. There, I said it twice. It took a long time for me to say those words out loud. Not the ones about my daughter—I knew she was beautiful from the first moment I laid eyes on her over 24 years ago. To declare so boldly that I am beautiful, well, that has taken me a lifetime to say. It feels vain and self-serving. But I do not think of myself as “beautiful” in ways you might be thinking...

Keep Reading

I’m Secretly Afraid My Daughter Won’t Be Pretty

In: Beauty, Kids
I’m Secretly Afraid My Daughter Won't Be Pretty www.herviewfromhome.com

I’m worried my daughter won’t be pretty. There, I said it. I just cringed writing it down, as it goes against pretty much everything I stand for as a pink cat-ears-hat-wearing feminist on whom it has always been impressed that the most important parts of a person are the ones not on the outside. Education was the number one priority in my household, and I knew it would be my ticket to ride. In navigating life’s obstacles, I’m proud of the fact that I’ve gotten where I wanted to go through my smarts, work ethic, and many times, humor. But...

Keep Reading

Does This Vacation Make My Butt Look Big?

In: Beauty, Health, Journal
Does This Vacation Make My Butt Look Big? www.herviewfromhome.com

One of my favorite things about our vacations are the photos we take that serve as a link back to the memories we make. I adore looking back through the photos even as soon as we get home. I smile and nod in remembrance at each one; yep, we did that, yes, that was so much fun, wow, that was way cool; and I’m wistful and dreamy and in love with the trip all over again. And I joyfully look back through the photos year after year, so fond of how they call forth sweet recollections and remembrances. This is...

Keep Reading

The Empowering Feeling of Being a Make-up Free Mom

In: Beauty, Humor, Inspiration, Motherhood
The Empowering Feeling of Being a Make-up Free Mom www.herviewfromhome.com

I got back from vacation a week ago. As I was getting ready this morning I realized my make-up bag was nowhere to be found. Then it hit me. I hadn’t unpacked it yet. I paused and a smile crept over my face. This was a first. For the last seven days not an ounce of make-up went on my face. It was such a funny moment that I walked into the family room with the towel around me to tell my husband. He too seemed a bit surprised… and impressed. As a new mom with a six-month-old baby boy,...

Keep Reading

This Is What I Will Tell My Daughter

In: Beauty, Inspiration, Kids, Mental Health, Motherhood
Lessons on Self-Worth from a Beauty Queen www.herviewfromhome.com

Very early in life, girls begin to learn the social importance of beauty. There is no denying it. There is no escaping it. The pressures to do more and be more are real, and they are relentless. When I was a pre-teen, I found myself watching how all the boys in school swooned over my big sister. She was beautiful, it’s true. “How can I be that too?”  Like most middle-schoolers, I was pretty insecure. “Was I desirable, beautiful?” I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t sure if I was beautiful, but I was sure that I wanted to be. In that...

Keep Reading

The Gift and Beauty of an Aging Body

In: Beauty, Health, Style
The Gift and Beauty of an Aging Body www.herviewfromhome.com

Our society is obsessed with youth. Look younger. Feel younger. Be younger. But the only problem is, EVERYONE AGES!! It happens to be a very big part of our life cycle. We’ve created a society that makes aging into some horrible misfortune. If you haven’t started a skin care regime by the time you’re nineteen, you’re already behind! Don’t you know you’re losing collagen by the second? You better go get yourself some face cream with peptides stat. But growing older is a privilege, not a problem. Yes, a privilege. Not everyone gets to do it. Those lines that frame...

Keep Reading