Your beauty doesn't only lie within

So, I know this woman. She's an incredible woman and I love her dearly. Let me just tell you a smidge about her. okay...so i know "smidgin" is a word...not sure if "smidge" is, but if it wasn't before...it is now...I also don't know why I went off on that tangent, but let's say I get back on track...where was I again? oh right, the woman. painting pictures. got it.

This woman is smart, and I'm not just talking regular-people-smart, though she is that too. I'm talking about, knows how to pick up your spirits just by saying a few words, smart. She is an incredible mother. Kind, caring, patient, and devoted. Mind you this woman does not live her life in movie-star-glamor, nor is she the kind of woman who sees a problem or sticky situation and runs away. She not only looks those problems in the face, she stares them down.

Her son, Adam, is one of my very best friends. He's very much like his mother. He's very smart. and like I said before, not just regular-people-smart (but I've gotta say, he pretty much knows EVERYTHING), he, like his mother, knows how to pick up your spirits with just a few words. He too is kind and caring and he too stares problems in the face and makes them feel sorry they ever bothered showing up.

You all know the saying "true beauty lies within'". That is no exception to this family I am describing to you. However, the beauty does not stop there.

Before I expand on that last little thought, let me tell you something first, about this woman's physical appearance.

She is stunning. Unlike most woman, she does not cover her natural beauty with make-up. She has these stunning eyes that just take your breath away, and beautiful light brown hair that is just long enough to softly brush her shoulders. She has a smile that could charm a book into giving up it's words. I'm telling you people, this woman turns heads.

Again, this has affected the way her son is.
Adam wrote something once on an online-journal that us kids started doing when we were all in youth-group together. Most of us still write there...anyway, he wrote this entry that he entitled "Cosmetics Create Cookie-Cutter Cuties". He went on to say that it makes him sick to know that little girls grow up thinking that true beauty costs money and is painted onto our faces.
Not only a very clever title but a very true piece of work! He has grown up with such a naturally beautiful mother, and he wants to find someone like that! Comfortable with the way she looks.

Now, like I said before, You know the saying "True beauty lies within'". And like I said before that is very true especially for these two amazing people; mother and son.

However, there is also a skin-deep beauty that not everyone has. There are people who do have it, but are not pretty people on the inside, and that just makes them look horrible, with or without makeup.
This particular woman I'm speaking of however...she has both.

I look up to her far more than I'm sure she can imagine.

I am usually a pretty happy person. I like to make people smile, and I like giving people compliments.
However, I never ever give out compliments that I don't mean. And I only compliment people who are deserving of them.

She is such a person. I love her dearly and I think it is important that we acknowledge the people we love and think highly of.

Candie, your beauty does not only lie within. You radiate beauty, not just with your amazing eyes and award-winning smile, but by your actions and the way you live your life.
I love you more every day.