By RTF Staff Writer Graceland King

They sat next to each other on the sandy beach. The sun peeked out just beyond the horizon as if it was reluctant to continue to disappear. They were silent as they watched the remaining light dance on the calm, blue-green waters. Reds, oranges and yellows painted the evening sky in uneven strokes.

“Beautiful.” The guy said, breaking the silence.

The girl smiled, staring across the water at the sight before her. How breathtakingly awesome it was. How amazed she felt to be able to gaze at its beauty.

“Beautiful.” Her friend said again.

“Yeah. It is,” she replied as she turned her head towards him.

He was looking right at her. She was confused. Looking out at the ocean then back at her friend’s face, her mind was reeling with thoughts. What was he talking about? He couldn’t possible say she was beautiful, when a whole view like this was right in front of them!

She didn’t speak as he continued to look at her. She didn’t say a word as her friend took her hand, a smile shaping his lips.

“Beautiful.”

Have you ever watched or read a scene like that? I sure have! They really get me giddy and excited! You know why???????

When I hear of stuff like that, I think of the time I was with two friends of mine. One was a guy and the other was a girl who wasn’t very confident in herself. She had been crying because someone put her down about the way she looked. I had been telling her that she was gorgeous and that person was just being a hater (I was pretty angry that someone could be so rude!). I was lucky my friend was there because he was the one who told her the most uplifting thing that I’ve ever heard in this situation:

“ Listen. What is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?” He asked her, siting next to her.

She told us of a time she went to her cabin in the mountains and the mornings up there were so pretty when the sun rose up behind the mountains.

“ Alright,” he moved so he was kneeling right in front of her. “Take the view, picture it in your mind. Now, put yourself right beside that. That view you like can’t even compare to how beautiful you are. It’s not even just us who thinks that! God is with you every moment of the day and as he is looking at you, he thinks of sunsets and sunrises. Shoot! He thinks you’re even more beautiful then those things.”

Everyone. You. Are. Beautiful. No matter what people say.

Beauty is uniqueness. You and I were made to be different and unique. You know what God said when you were born?

“Beautiful.” He probably did a little dance too.

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Graceland King is a talented 15-year-old writer who loves to write poems, short stories, and lyrics. She plays the bass in a youth praise band and continually tries to keep her spiritual fire burning!