Article August 15, 2005 ISSUE

BEAUTY SECRETS

Sara Hoagland Hunter

The quest for physical beauty seems to have become a global obsession. Advice on how to attain narrow, cultural ideals of beauty saturates print media, the airwaves, and cyberspace. Tips on tanning, weight loss, wrinkle reduction, and teeth whitening abound, and yet their results can't compare with the transforming effect of a change in thought—or what I call a spiritual makeover. The three best beauty tips I ever received fall into the spiritual makeover category and came from a nonagenarian, a newlywed, and a preschooler.

My friend Mildred, a Christian Science healer for most of her adult life, was still helping and praying for people into her advanced years. Most impressive to me was her willingness to learn, to progress, and to grow each day. She loved to tell stories on herself, and one of them continues to instruct me.