Dorothy often made jokes about how she looked!  She didn't like anything about herself!  She was embarrassed about her hands.  She thought her body was fat and ugly!  She wasn't proud of her nose and would often referred to it as her "Schnoz!"  You would often hear her making jokes about herself:

Like many other girls she compared herself with what the world thinks is beauty.  She would page through beauty magazines and say, "Oh, I don't look like that!"  But, she didn't hear God whispering, "All what the world thinks is pretence, and beauty soon fades away!"  Dorothy only heard another voice whispering, "You're ugly!"

One night while everyone was sleeping, sounds came from Dorothy's room!  But it wasn't Dorothy talking it was - her Body!

"Well, I'm tired of being insulted!" exclaimed Miss Hand.  "Imagine being called a huge 'Schnoz' all the time!" replied Nose.  "She doesn't seem to understand that without me she wouldn't be able to see at all!" added Eyes.

She can't hear without us!" said Ears, "We have always done our best for her, and now all she cares about is how we look, and not what we do for her!"

"Now, now!  Let's all calm down and decide what we should do about it," responded Miss Lips, "I don't think she has a nice thing to say about any of us!"  "That's right, she complains that we stink!" rumbled a deep voice.  "Who said that?" asked Ears.  "Down here!" came the reply.

Everybody looked down at Feet.  "Did she say you stink?" asked Eyes, "I wonder if she knows it's because of the silly shoes she wears?"  "And what about me?" asked Thighs, "She called me 'Thunder Thighs' yesterday and hasn't eaten anything for two whole days!  She really isn't looking after all of us is she?"

Miss Lips suddenly had an idea: "Listen everybody, I have an amazing idea!  Okay, here's the plan ....."  Everybody listened very carefully as she whispered and then couldn't wait till morning!  Dorothy was in for a big surprise!

Next morning Dorothy woke up and wondered why she couldn't see so well!  She rubbed her eyes but it didn't help.  She sat up in bed and gave a yelp, "Ouch, that hurt!"  It felt as if all her bones were sticking through her skin!

She got up and immediately fell flat on her face!  She screamed when her feet just gave in, as if they had no strength!  What was happening?  She looked back at her bed and her eyes nearly popped out - for most of her hair was on the pillow!

Dorothy touched her head hoping to find more hair, but all she felt was bare skin!  How could she go around bald?  This couldn't be happening to her, so she crawled to the mirror where she had spent so many hours and gasped at what she saw - "It" had came straight out of a horror movie!

Her ears had grown bigger, her nose had disappeared, and where were her lips?  "This can't be happening!" she cried.  She threw herself on the bed and cried and cried!

She sat up when she suddenly remembered that her teacher had told her that God made each of us to look like Himself, and if we hate how we look, we are insulting God!  She realised that she had made bad jokes about herself and she had been hurting God!

She hadn't even appreciated that she could see, and hear, and walk, and talk!  Dorothy looked up to heaven and asked God to forgive her for not loving herself!

Exhausted from this ordeal she lay down and fell fast asleep.  When she woke up she thought, "Whew!  I'm in bed again!"  Dorothy jumped up and ran to the mirror and breathed a huge sigh of relief.  She didn't know if she had dreamt it or if it was real, but she was back to normal again!

On Sunday she spoke to the Children's Church leader, who explained to that she should not depend on a fine hairstyle or fine clothes to make her beautiful.  She should rather have a gentle and quiet spirit in her heart as this gives lasting beauty.

She told her to read 1 Peter 3:3-4 and pray about her shape:

"Don't depend on a fine hairstyle
or wearing gold jewels and fine clothes to make you beautiful.
Rather have lasting beauty in your heart from a gentle and quiet spirit
and this is very precious to God."

Dorothy did, and today she thanks God that she is trim and healthy, and if she should get fat, then there will be more for God and others to love!

God bless.