Let your beauty not be external – the braiding of hair and wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes – but the inner person of the heart, the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit, which is precious in God’s sight. I Peter 3:3-4
As I sat in the company of Lois Eschenbrenner about a week ago, my mind came back to these verses.. We chatted about life--her children and grandchildren's activities, the recent holidays, etc. I started to consider all Lois has been through lately and how truly beautiful that woman is and how much she means to me and so many others.
The world, with its warped view of physical beauty, might miss someone like Lois in its lists of
"The Year's Top Ten Most Beautiful People" or the latest cover model on Vogue. Hollywood with all its everchanging fashions and trappings would surely overlook her on the street. Even so, she possesses a beauty that the world can only provide a cheap imitation.
I say all that to make clear that Lois Eschenbrenner is beautiful. No doubt about it. She possesses the "lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit." Even as cancer and its subsequent treatments threaten her physical body, it cannot steal her hope. She looks to the future and places it completely in God's hands. I can only hope that as I grow in the grace of our Lord that I could be as lovely as Lois.
