vanity

I pluck my eyebrows. I have friends who get theirs waxed. I tried that once. In seventh grade. Everyone was doing it. Or so I thought. It was one of those things you think is a great idea, and then in the words of Ron Burgundy, you "immediately regret this decision."

I'm not one to follow the crowd or succumb to peer pressure, but I was not always so...

I moved from a tiny private, Christian elementary school to a huge public middle school. I'd been completely sheltered in every way - wore a uniform to school so I barely had any clothes, had pretty much only ever listened to Christian music. Then suddenly I was thrown into a world I knew nothing about - a world where all the girls had at least one, if not nine, Kate Spade purses, a closet full of rootie kazooties (pattern skorts. don't ask), and a boyfriend - huh?

I made my best efforts to catch on quickly but always felt about two (okay, 32 if we're being really honest here) steps behind. One day a couple of my new friends were talking about how they get their eyebrows waxed every 26.3 days. I politely excused myself, went to the bathroom, and carefully examined my virgin eyebrows. 

Hours later I successfully convinced my mom to take me to the "waxing lady for children." (Okay, that wasn't really her name. But come on.) And minutes later I left with perfectly shaped eyebrows... And ninth degree burns just below my eyebrows. 

Needless to say I have never done that again. No thank you. I will pluck. 

I actually found this bedside table at Pottery Barn that fits perfectly on this oddly narrow wall in my room. I turned it into a vanity where I can sit and put on makeup.

jacqueline bedside table. pottery barm.

The thing about plucking though is you really do need a good close-up mirror that will magnify the tiny hairs. You also need some really good tweezers. But even the best tweezers in the world won't help if you can't see the hairs you're trying to remove. 

I love this magnifying mirror.

These tweezers are the bomb.

The other day I was thinking... I take a good close-up look at my face every morning. But do I take a good close-up look at my soul? 

Growing up, if anyone ever told me I was pretty, my mom would always politely say thank you and them immediately remind me:

"It's just as important to be pretty on the inside as it is on the outside." 

This is so true. We live in a culture that constantly bombards us with ads and messages that we need to improve our outward appearance - with makeup, jewelry, clothes, shoes, and Clarisonic face brushes. But Proverbs 31:30 reminds us that:

"charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting..."

It really is so much more important to be pretty on the inside. Now every morning when I take a good close-up look at my face, I am reminded to take a good close-up look at my soul.

I can have the best intentions when I wake up each day, but if I don't focus on Christ I am going to fail. I need Him to magnify my heart, bringing to light the things I need to get rid of and helping me shape the good that is there.