365 Day 76 Lessons From A Flower Girl

This is Storie. She was the flower girl at the wedding I got to photograph yesterday. As I watched her throughout the course of the day, I realized that Storie knows a few secrets that we as women often grow up and forget. I thought it might be nice to learn a few lessons from this gorgeous and graceful flower girl.

1. You are beautiful just because you are a girl and that is an incredibly wonderful thing. Storie knew she was beautiful and she held it close to her heart like treasure. She didn’t shy away when people told her she was pretty. She opened up like a flower with each kind comment and drank in her day as a princess with delight. She relished every moment, every kind word, every happy glance.

2. Enjoy the moment. It’s okay to rest and really enjoy life. We don’t have to try so hard. Every time I saw Storie she was smiling or laughing. She took in the day like it was a gift from heaven. And it was. Her job was very important to her, but she did not let the pressure steal her joy. She knew she was laying down petals for the bride, and it made her very happy. Important doesn’t have to mean stressful.

3. Dancing can be a key to experiencing new levels of joy and happiness. Storie didn’t let the fact that she was a very tired princess get in the way of some amazing dance floor time. She and her mommy danced and giggled to their hearts content.  A girl has to get her dance on to find her happy place sometimes. I know I do.  (Okay I danced with the bridal party too.)

4. There is no such thing as too many compliments. This one gets me going a bit. I overheard a stranger ask Storie’s mommy if it was okay to tell her she looked lovely for fear of making her think too much of herself. To this I say, there can never be too many kind things spoken to a little girl! Most (if not all) of us will hear the opposite for the rest of our lives, if not from people we know then from the media, our culture or the internet. We will be told or we will tell ourselves that we are too thin or too fat. We will think we are not pretty enough or tall enough, outgoing enough, or quiet enough. Enough, enough, enough. Enough! No, you can never fill her little tank too much because someday there will be a draw on that tank and it may already happening. So do this, tell a little girt she is beautiful today. I make it my mission as part of my job and my calling to tell every little girl and every woman as much as I can that she is beautiful. BEAUTIFUL! Because God made you, and you are feminine and lovely and straight from heaven.

Thank you Storie, for showing us how to find our way back to resting in the beauty God gave us as women. You carried yourself with the elegance and grace of a real princess.

Because you are.