Sometimes I find it important to pamper my inner princess.

Call me shallow if you want, but the occasional luxury of new lip gloss or sparkly fingernail polish really can make my day. A few weeks ago, my mom gave me a treasure — bright pink lip gloss that came in a Clinique bonus gift set. Today I splurged and bought a shiny, black headband at Old Navy (headbands are back in style — isn’t that weird?).

The pampering isn’t limited to buying stuff. Reading a novel, painting my toenails, even playing my bass (punk princess!) . . . there are many paths to pampering.

I think that all of these little luxuries are symbols to me that I have worth. Glittery, girly acts of self-care are love notes to my soul. They are reminders that Someone created me, and that He loves me very much. Despite my failures and character defects, my many imperfections, my powerlessness over so much in my life, I know I am not on my own.