Insights

When my oldest daughter was young, she loved the book Princess Bella and the Red Velvet Hat by T. Davis Bunn. Princess Bella was a young princess who refused to step into public without her red velvet hat pulled tightly down around her ears. The townspeople speculated about why Bella always wore the hat. “All the fur on her head has fallen out. She must wear the red velvet hat to protect her from the sunlight,” some suggested. In truth, Bella had an entirely different reason for wearing that hat, one her father would eventually learn and address. It was, after all, her father’s duty to learn why his daughter was afraid to go into the public without her hat. It was not the business of the townspeople, who only made matters worse with their speculations. 

Today, I find that many are behaving like the townspeople as they speculate about why one has chosen to vaccinate or not vaccinate. Why does one wear a mask or not wear a mask? Certainly the list goes on. I am saddened by what I see around me. 

It is not important for us to agree on all matters. What is important is that we regard one another with respect and treat one another with kindness. Even more than respect and kindness, Jesus has called us to love one another. We must stop fighting those who do not hold the same beliefs that we hold regarding such things as masks and vaccinations. If your relationship with someone is such that you can ask about one's views and have a polite conversation in order to gain understanding, I would encourage that approach. Otherwise, I would encourage you to resist the urge to wonder about someone else’s choices regarding vaccinations, masks or otherwise.

Princess Bella’s dad would eventually ask her why she wore the red velvet hat. Her answer, “Because I’m too ugly to be seen.” As any father would, the king began immediately to help Bella with this false narrative. 

“At last the king said, ‘I have discovered that only one kind of beauty is truly beautiful...that is the kind of beauty that comes from deep inside...Real beauty is grown, like a flower that must be planted and watered and pruned. It takes work. It is hard. And most folks, royal or not, are too lazy to make the effort.”

Let us not be too lazy to grow beauty from within and offer that beauty to those around us.

Let your beauty be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. - 1 Peter 3:4

Tammy McIlvoy
Head of School
Logos Preparatory Academy