Goatee, Beauty and a Scowl.

Politely holding the door open for a person is always on my agenda without fail. In a gentleman-like manner, I hold the church door open for a woman in the whipping wind when last minute she goes out of her way and abruptly changes direction. She opens the furthest door away from both her and I and safely enters God’s House.

Once inside the church, I gently smile and in friendly fashion, I ask jokingly “What’s wrong, you dont like my door?”

Her shocking response…”No I didn’t. You looked kind of freaky.”

I laugh out loud. I think to myself how bizarre. Never in 46 years have I heard such an off-color remark.

Full of confidence, I laugh off
her unexpected comment. If I had my dog with me, Texie, he would have heard me say, “I get the feeling we are not in Texas anymore.”

Is it my new goatee and maybe she found it sinister looking? Was it my well-worn black leather jacket that logged in a numerous amount of motorcycle miles and appeared intimidating?

The fact is I don’t care. I quickly brush it off. I am thankful for the bizarre exchange for it inspired this writing.

The reason I share the story is:
1. I found it funny and I hope you get a laugh from it.
2. To document my growth.
3. To share the importance of self-esteem.
4. Remind you who you are through God’s eyes.

There was a time when my response would spew out sharp and biting insults in return with an aggressive and defensive posture. Those snapping,witty, and rude remarks I could have casted out did not even surface in my serene mind. Is that because it is wise to ignore ignorant remarks that I know are not true?

I believe my response or lack of response defines my growth and confirms who I am. I am a child of The King of all Kings, Christ Jesus.

In the past I had no shortage of couped up false-pride. Today, I am true to myself and I know who I am, not without imperfection or flaws, but truly a loving and beautiful person loved by God the Father and my Lord Jesus Christ.

Beautiful person I am? No, not in that way that GQ Magazine is beating down my door and I do not look even remotely close to the full haired chiseled guy on my latest Men’s Health Magazine. I am beautiful because God made me.

God made me who I am, loving, kind and a plethora of other good things. Ok, ok. This is not where I need to write about my positive attributes. There is not enough bandwidth on my computer for that. Just kidding of course. 🙂

The truth is God made us all beautiful.
Even this woman with the sour scowl on her face that obviously has issues with 6 feet plus tall guys that are gentlemen. My prayer is church served her well yesterday and God spoke calmness to her. There is real joy in praying for people that try to offend you even if their attempt is futile.

Do you know who you really are? Do you get your self-esteem from the opinions of others?
I used to thrive from positive opinions of me from others and get upset over any negative opinion someone may have of me. Praise the Good Lord, today, neither approval nor disapproval affect me. It is more important what we think, know, and believe about ourselves.

Bob Dylan mumbled out some words in a song that he wrote, “You can please some of the people some of the time but you can’t please all the people all the time,” and then he references Abraham Lincoln as saying that.

They are both right. You can not please everybody so don’t even try. Just be yourself. The golden-key that fits into the steel-lock pertaining to confidence is to know who you are. Know that you are a child of God. Know that you are created to be uniquely YOU and YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL.

If you ever question your own beauty for whatever reason, please read my short article on “There will never be a more beautiful you.”

To all my readers, I love you and thanks for reading about the things I learn and people I meet on my journey.

Allow me to encourage you, always be yourself. Always walk tall regardless of what strangers think of you. Always hold doors open for people whether they appreciate it or not. Laugh more, Love more, and Live more! There will never be a more beautiful you, with or without a goatee.