A Gracious Woman*

by Brittany S.
from Virtuous Daughters, August 2003~Volume 3, Number 5

“…for thou art a gracious and merciful God.” Nehemiah 9:31 I want to tell you a story I read in my book...

One day there were two girls in school. One was Ida, and one was Stephanie. Ida was not very pretty, but was a small, nice, loving girl, always having a smile on her face. She was a sweet young woman. Then there was Stephanie. She was pretty and always wanted to be the leader, and have someone follow her. But she was prideful.

Stephanie’s story after she got out of school is not a very happy one. She rebelled against her parents, and did very wrong things. Also she wore worldly clothes; her life did not please God. It was miserable for her and those around her.
   
Ida’s story is a very happy one. She grew up and became a minister’s wife with a nice family of children. She was very happy and was admired and respected by everyone who knew her.
   
Do you see the difference? When Stephanie was very young, she was very prideful and had bad problems. Then later in life she had even bigger problems because she did not fear the Lord and remember that favor is deceitful and beauty is vain.
   
When Ida was very young, she chose the right path. She was always ready to help others and be very fair. And then when she was older she kept on choosing the right path, and her life was happy while everyone loved and respected her. We should fear the Lord and not be too concerned with our outward appearance, too.