Mean Girls and Blind Judges...

1 Samuel 16:7

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.


This weekend has been chocked full of competition on the individual level and group levels. Emotions have been stretched from one end of the spectrum to the other. My 12 year old was in the school pageant and my 16 year old in show choir competition. Both experiences have been a tug of war with mean girls and questionable judges. It is no wonder my head feels as if it is squished in a vice...well...the sinus pressure and congestion kind of ices the cake as well.

Contestant #1

To the left, is my beautiful baby girl. Hair curled, but pulled back in the sweet way only a 12 year old would wear it. The dress sparkly and fitting, but sure to cover up all of her innocence. For the pageant, she is wearing a little more make-up than I normally prefer, but we needed to accentuate the features for stage lighting and such, or so they say.

 Her school pageant was touted to be a "natural" pageant. Administrators were stressing the importance of age appropriate hair, make-up, and dress. The judges were going to be told  to only look for age appropriate. Natural also means, " what you are born with." Nothing fake...or so I thought.

The night of the pageant we learned an entirely different definition. All of the winners had fake spray tans. You know, that special orange glow you can only get from an airbrush.  Mascara, coal black eyeliner, and lipstick caked on so thick that not even 40 year old women should attempt to wear so thick. Hairstyles were also formal and older looking styles. Of course, there are thin lines when it comes to hair. Some of the dresses worn lacked the modesty that any 6th grade girl should have.

As far as the judges go, for this "natural" pageant, nothing but "glitz" judges were commissioned.  Glitz are so used to seeing fake hair, fake teeth, and fake tans, I believe they have lost touch with how beautiful a young lady without all those paid for, add-ons could be.  To clarify, I am not saying my baby girl should have won or that I am angry she was not the winner. I simply feel that all girls should have been given the same advantage. If overdone, non-age appropriate was to be frowned on and taken out of the running, then there should have never been winners picked from the sort.

Ok, so you ask...where do mean girls fit into all this? The winner, in all of her glorius, fake attire, made a point to tell my daughter that she was going to lose.  Not once that night, but several times.  Then proceeded to tell all the other little girls that she was only in the pageant to beat my child. They all felt that my daughter needed to hear that right before she took the stage.  Yes, our own production of , "Mean Girls," right here in our small town school pageant.

I am happy to report that my girl took the stage and modelled all the beauty and sweetness she could muster. Unfortunately, the judges were unable to see into the hearts of the girls on stage or their chosen winners would have been a little different. While those girls were painted beautiful on the outside for the one pageant night, my daughter is naturally beautiful---inside and out--everyday of the week. She is a princess because her Father is the King!  She studies God's Word, prays with an honest heart, and tries to follow Jesus' example. For that...I could not have been more proud! Well, proud without being too prideful. It is the inner beauty we are striving for...the outer beauty is just an added perk!

Show choir competition and judging? That's a whole other story...