Dear Girls,

Apparently this week the internet broke when Kim Kardashian posed with her bare butt for all the world to see.  And I would say that if that’s news the internet broke a long time ago.  But thanks to her my Facebook feed has been littered with various parodies and knock offs and far too many bare rear ends today.  And Kim’s not doing anything new or fresh, only the same song to a different tune.  A desire for fame and celebrity and to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue for a day, maybe two.

Meanwhile, in middle America, we’ve been hiding Beatitudes in our hearts, committing the words of Christ to memory, training to be more like Him.  Blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart….

Purity.  It’s a hard thing to come by these days.  And a harder thing to hold on to in this flashy, high tech, always want more, sex driven world.  The anti-thesis of purity is everywhere – in books, on televisions, magazines, movie screens, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and other places I probably don’t even know exist yet.  Impurity is easy and heralded and cheered and celebrated.  Impurity, the world will tell you, is cool and fun and now.  Because you only live once, you know?

But purity.  It’s work and it’s weird by the world’s standard and it means choosing to go against the flow.  It means not reading certain books, not pinning certain pins, not watching certain videos, not listening to certain songs.  It means missing out on certain conversations because you chose to abstain from something your friends did or watched or read.  And it’s a choice.  A choice you have to make daily, sometimes moment by moment, because the opposite of purity is everywhere.  Everywhere. But shock for shock’s sake is never redeeming.

Purity, it comes from the heart, from a relationship with God and time spent in His word.  The closer you are to Him, the less you want the stuff of this world and the more you see it’s just a fraud, a poor imitation of what we were truly made for.

You were made for more than this world has to offer.  Be better.  Be above.  Be set apart.  Be different.  No one ever regrets remaining pure, keeping their heart tuned toward God, seeking His glory.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  Because you’ll really live forever, you know?

Love,

Mom