Next in this series on purity, we pause to consider the power of beauty via emotional purity. According to Genesis 12, Sarah was exceptionally physically beautiful, even as she aged. Yet, she is more fondly remembered and rightly praised in 1 Peter 3 for her projected image of one with a gentle and quiet spirit, living in a proper and good sense of humility and obedience. Certainly she laughed and doubted and jumped the gun. But in the end, she learned how to master her feelings and accept her assigned place in life with hope.

This sounds foreign to me as a modern American woman. But when I dig deeper, I see this is not just an antiquated cultural demand. No. According to Peter, such submission shines from a pure heart, from an honest-core self that wants good and chooses service for the sake of those who are loved. Will there be fear, negative reactions, and mistakes? Yes. But inner beauty lights a woman’s face and shines through the storms of life (and marriage) like low car beams glowing through a dark, snowy drive.

We do not know exactly what Sarah looked like physically. But it doesn’t really matter. We know the essence of her heart: a much more enduring legacy.

So, a poem in her honor…

~ Purity 2: Sarah ~

Queen of this house,

This moving, growing home:

Collection of tents-servant memories.

I have presided with smiles, tears, screams.

Princess of my Father,

Living to love my master:

Challenge of ever-changing complexities.

I have blossomed through bitter to sweet.

Naming the feelings, seeing the fears,

I stand up on choices, cling to what’s dear.

And see a face so beautiful in my mirror.