A Happy Heart

     Ava is ALL GIRL! If you were to stop into my house on any given day I could guarantee you'd find her in a tutu (that she slept in the night before) dancing around the house in sparkly shoes. Like most little girls she enjoys painting her nails, having her hair done and putting on mommy's makeup.

     



     For those of you who may not know (ya right!) Ava is also a perfectionist, big time! Her ideas of perfection become increasingly narrow when she's tired. Perfectionists are always hardest on themselves and I see this so often with Ava.

     On those days when I can't get her hair right, she can't find the dress she wants or she's brutally forced to wear pants because we've just had a record snowstorm, we've occasionally heard her say "No, I'm not beautiful!" through fits of tears.
     I was shocked to learn that my four year old had created such a concrete sense of what she believed to be beautiful. Determined to reshape her blurred concept of beauty we sat down to have one of our famous little talks. This is where the line "A happy heart makes you beautiful" comes in. 1 Samuel 16:7 says

     "But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

     Now, whenever Ava gets overly concerned about her appearance, we kindly remind her to keep a happy heart because that is what makes you truly beautiful. She seems to have grasped the concept and often reminds me from time to time that even mommys need to choose a happy heart.

     Last week Ava surprised me with a heart necklace she found at the dollar store. She asked Patty to buy it for her so she could give it to me. She told me it was a happy heart ❤️ Though the necklace is not my style, it is now the most precious one I own.