BEAUTY AND THE BUTT

Two Beauties

This past weekend, Jimmy and I were back on the links working hard on our handicaps. "Working hard," meaning hitting balls everywhere but where they should be. Anyway... as we rounded the back nine, our threesome ran into a friend playing by himself. He told us he hadn't played in a long time and was out trying to work on his game. Jimmy asked if he wanted to join us. He was glad to tag along and make a foursome for the back nine.

It was nice visiting with him. We hadn't seen him in a while and got to catch up with him and hear about his family. He has a son who just graduated from the Air Force Academy and is now flying F17's - much to his mother's fear (I should say so!) He also mentioned that his oldest daughter is getting married in December. It was exciting hearing about the plans - it really got our minds off some the incredibly HIDEOUS shots we were making as we played along.

He told us his daughter, now approximately 32, just finished her residency and is marrying an ENT. Her specialty is plastic surgery. He talked about how proud he was of her and what a tender heart she had. She was wanting to do plastic surgery that dealt with reconstruction surgery for breast cancer patients and other things. I said, "Oh how great!", thinking to myself, "and all those face lifts so she can do REAL surgery like clef pallets!" (Isn't that the line from one of my favorite movies, "Doc Hollywood"? Anyway, he talked about his saintly daughter and how cute she was with her ENT fiance' at the dinner table. He wasn't sure their family dinners would be the same! (I'd sure like to be a fly on the wall at their dinners!)

Then he laughed and relayed a conversation he recently had with her . She was talking about the work she did and began talking to her dad about his age. He mentioned that he could tell when women had work done on their face. He could see little scars in certain "places." She said, "You know dad, I see a lot of people your age coming to me for work." He said he thought she was going to say to him that he should have some face lift work done. He said, I'm 57 and I'm not about to have anything done. I am what I am. She said to him, " You know what the biggest problem with men your age is? You've lost your butt!"

Our friend was shocked. He wasn't expecting his daughter to tell him he lost his BUTT! She said, "You know dad, one of the most popular things to do now is to have a Brazilian butt lift". Our friend had no idea what a Brazilian butt lift was, never the less have his daughter do one on him! She explained that it was having implants put in his butt, and his butt would look lifted and cute! He politely said no thanks and ended the subject. He wasn't sure with two doctors in the family if his household would ever be the same. Now especially since his daughter wanted to lift his butt AND when he first met his soon to be son-in-law, he said, "Oh, your a booger doctor!" (guess that didn't go over too well with the ENT)!

I started to tell or friend to tell His daughter that if she wanted to do a little butt lifting on some patients, or add a little "extra" to the "top" areas in the "front" of others, we could probably work a deal where she could liposuction some from me and transfer it to her other patients. Surely by now, the medical profession has figured out a way to transfer this stuff. I figure its the new "green" way. You know...save the planet...hug a tree...save the wales...blaaa...blaaa...blaa! Surely there are plenty of us ready to contribute so no plastic will need to be used. We'll have to get Brad Pitt and Al Gore to work on this. We'll call it "Growing Green." You know...people's butts and fronts are "growing" and it will sort of be like going "green." (I'm TRYING!)

It makes me think about the way we all perceive ourselves. Some of us love ourselves the way we are. If not love...at least satisfied. Others may not love or are not satisfied with the way we appear, but are too scared to actually "do" anything about it. Then there are those who HATE the way we are. Some can do something about it and others just have to live with it - hating it. Yet, we forget that each of us was uniquely created in God's image. Yes, in the image of "God." Each one, a little different from anyone else - but in the image of our heavenly Father. So why do we hate what He so beautifully created? Why do we think aging is so ugly? Who knows...perhaps the Lord, Himself, has wrinkles and we are just growing in His image more and more. Why are we so concerned on what the outside looks like when He is concerned what the "inside" looks like? Scripture tells us that we are pleasing to Him when we live by the Spirit. When we are living by the Spirit, the fruit (or beauty) seen/produced is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Now THAT is beauty! No doctor on earth can surgically make that or surgically produce that. Only God's Holy Spirit can make us beautiful like that. So what is it that is keeping your beauty from shining through?

Today, I am thankful for wrinkles. Wrinkles that "give away" the years God has given me with family, friends, and time to know Him more intimately. Wrinkles that will never go way but only grow more beautiful to Him as I depend more on Him.

No...I still have to paint on my face before my 7:00am walk. Can't quite get over that yet! Maybe one day...just don't want to traumatize the neighbors!