bubbly beauty

Tonight was the perfect ending to a sunshiny day. Every night (well most every), I give Elli Kate a sudsy, slippery bubble bath. A true girly girl knows how to enjoy a bubble bath even at her age, and Elli Kate is no exception. She LOVES her Johnson & Johnson, all over soap, bubble bath! It's such a fun time for mommy too! Just the anticipation of getting in the bath tub makes her bounce all over the bathroom while I try and skin her clothes off her wiggly, wiry, year-and-a-half-old busy body. "Ahhhh, mommy", she says as I finally slip her in the warm water. Immediately she assumes the belly down "swimming" position. Kicking her feet and alternating her arms in turtle fashion is her version of swimming. The bubbles have now traveled to the head of the tub, where her hands are now. She scoops up some of the iridescent fluff and says, "Oooo, Mommy, pretty bubbles." And they are. The lights in our bathroom make the bubbles sparkle in her hands. I have to admit, they are simply beautiful. Simply. Beautiful! I know, but she doesn't remember that bubbles don't last very long in a bathtub with a little girl kicking them. She can enjoy them while they last, though. Who am I to tell her to preserve the bubbles. They are eventually going to pop and the water is going to get cold, but she can have a great time with them while they last. And, in the meantime, I can give her a nice cleansing bath.

I can't help but think this is how a little bit of life is. Our beauty is fading. My beauty is fading. I can recognize that everyday when I glance in that piece of glass that tends to follow me everywhere. I see it in the bathroom, the lady's room at any restaurant, in my car, and even in my purse. We know it better by the name of Mirror. We are made so fresh and beautiful the day we arrive here on the planet and then too quickly our outer beauty starts to fade. Like the bubbles in the bathtub, we know they will soon disappear, but we think the longer they last the more beautiful they are. Well, sometimes. But, I know the water cleanses and is the most important part the bath in the end. So, in life, I know that the cleansing that happens to my heart will be the most important part of me in the end. The beauty that lasts is inside my heart, Proverbs 31:31 says. So, I'll let the Lord and His Word cleanse and renew me, while I enjoy the fading beauty of this life. In the end (when all the bubbles are gone), I'll still be beautiful because of what I've allowed Him to to in me everyday. Thanks for the life lesson, Elli Kate! Sweet dreams, sweet pea beauty!