Sometimes, the name of Beverly McDonald came up in class. I miss Beverly- when she was my teacher's aide, she always wanted me to bring my clothes so she could iron them and I would be less wrinkly! Beverly, now married with children, is the lead-in to this story about the lovely Veronica Phung, another of my all-time favorites and whose picture graces the cover of the book I authored. If you want to know who it was the girls thought she looked like, e-mail me and I will tell you. This is from April 11, 2006.
We wear uniforms at Westbury Christian School. I asked one of my senior aides, Beverly McDonald, what percentage of the students disliked the policy. Her estimate was eighty-five. She told me it isn't that she particularly is against the rules. Beverly just wishes there more options, like additional shirt styles. After awhile, you get used to the uniforms and forget that all schools don't wear them. The only time I notice is on days when the kids have dress passes or there is a special formal occasion. Several weeks ago, we had induction for the National Junior Honor Society. A number of the girls on my middle school basketball team were involved so they were excused from wearing the normal athletic gear for practice. Instead of their school uniforms, they dressed up. When I say they dressed up, I mean they dressed up! They looked very fashionable and sophisticated, some even wearing high heels. There is a girl who plays for me whose name is Veronica. What a great young lady! She is an excellent student and played well for us this season. Veronica is unflappable. She is constantly smiling and one of the most even-tempered thirteen year olds I've ever been around. When I published my book several years back, I decided the cover should be graced by our WCS kids. Veronica, a fourth grader at the time, was one of the four selected. I never dreamed that in the future I would be blessed to be her coach. That National Junior Honor Society induction day, Veronica was dressed to kill. The girls on this year's team are close but not above teasing each other. Based on her glamorous look, her teammates started calling Veronica by the name of a famous actress they said she resembled. Veronica protested. The more she protested, the more they continued. But she was emphatic- she did not want to be called by the name of that movie star celebrity. I questioned her on this. I put in my two cents that the woman was stunning, one of the most beautiful in Hollywood. She would not be shaken. This mystified me so I decided to write my devotional entry on Veronica, with her permission. I sat down to write the story, beginning by doing a Google search on Veronica's lookalike. I was appalled by what I found in just a few seconds. The actress, while beautiful, is not very wholesome. Immediately, I changed the topic and wrote about another young lady I had been blessed to coach. This morning, I pulled Veronica aside at practice and apologized to her. In a nutshell, I told her the world famous, drop dead gorgeous actress was not good enough to be mentioned in the same breath as Veronica. The actress suffers by the comparison between the two...and it is not close.
We are focused on looks in our culture to a staggering degree. Last night, ABC began airing the remake of Cecil B. DeMille's epic 1956 film, The Ten Commandments. I watched several minutes, long enough to make one observation. The women in this version are much more attractive than those in the original. That's no accident: beauty sells. It seems as if every entertainer these days is attractive. I doubt a female singer like Janis Joplin would enjoy much popularity today. She didn't have the look which makes financial success a possibility for the up and coming pop icons. Mankind has always struggled with putting comeliness before spirituality and character. In 1 Samuel 16:7, God tells the prophet Samuel that, "Man looks at the outward appearance but the LORD looks at the heart." That's what my players did. They meant it as a compliment in comparing their teammate to a breathtaking star but the important attributes don't show up in PEOPLE Magazine. We seek cheekbones and eyes, sleekness and hair, fashion and charisma. But, the most important feature, the heart, is out of the range of the camera lens. It can't escape the eye of the one who gives his children the chance to see real beauty, the kind on the inside. I know one young lady who possesses it- and she doesn't live in Hollywood.
Applicable quote of the day:
"There was a time I could have been mistaken for Burt Reynolds. I had a mustache and so did he. But, he was the number one star in the world so there really wasn't much confusion."
Tom Selleck
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
http://www.hawleybooks.com/
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
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