Hidden Beauty

I learned something today that makes me just plain mad. Did you hear? The little girl who stood so confidently before the world Friday night at the opening of the Olympics, ushering in children who represented every cultural faction of China was actually a pint-sized milli-vanilli. Lin Miaoke was lip-synching with her perfect pony-tails while the little girl who was really singing with her precious and strong voice was hidden from the world because she wasn't cute enough! At 7, Yang Peiyi has the voice but the packaging isn't right, so we push her to pretend she is something that she is not, expect her to hide herself because she's not enough.

What makes me even madder is Anne Curry's response as the story was reported on the Today Show, broadcasting from Beijing. The video loop finished with a full-face picture of the hidden girl with a shy smile and slightly downcast eyes. And Curry promptly says, "I think she's cute."

It's not about being cute! It's not about being cute enough or presentable or acceptable. It's about each of us, every one of us being valued for who we are! Why wasn't her clear, powerful voice enough to invite her to sing to the world? What lesson will each of those girls learn about their own value as human beings? You're pretty enough, but just stand there ... we don't need to hear from you. You sing like a bird, but, well, those teeth ...

I was (who am I kidding, I still am) one of those girls ... you know, never quite together. A hint of a cowlick here, a pimple there, braces on my teeth, pudge everywhere and worried about who might notice or care. There have been moments in my growing up - and I'm still doing that, by the way - when the evaluation and approval of others was/is of ultimate importance. And, thankfully, there are other moments when I can celebrate that I am who I am and the little things like pimples (still) or arm flab don't define me. I'm not defined by my lack of athleticism or a huge vocabulary, just like you're not defined by the vocation you pursue or your birth order position. These things about me and you (that grow out of comparison with someone else, really) are not mistakes ... they just are.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't arrived at some enlightened place where it no longer bothers me when you disapprove. I'm just saying that I've had and have good folks in my life who remind me that I'm more than my appearance or my choices or my abilities ... and lack thereof. I hope these little girls have someone in their lives to tell them much more that "I think you're cute!" I hope that you have someone in your life who encourages you to stop hiding yourself for fear of not being enough. My prayer is that each of us not only can come to grips with our own pricelessness but also of one another, even and especially in our difference. In her book, Looking for God, Nancy Ortberg cautions us with this wisdom: "The reason molds work so well for Jell-O is that gelatin is a substance without form of its own. But people aren't like that, or at least we shouldn't be. Molds are rigid, predetermined boundaries that create shape but leave no room for movement. Great for Jell-O, disastrous for people."

I believe there's a deep truth that you and I need to hear, to be reminded of, and to embrace:

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works; that I know full well. Psalm 139:14

My hope is this: that Lin and Yang, and every other little boy and girl in this world can hear and believe the truth that they matter just because they are. And, that you know and appreciate yourself full well as an amazing creation, wonderfully made (pimples, arm flab and all!).