Among the jewelry in this painting are rosary beads which can indeed be more precious. Jewelry may adorn a woman on the outside but a life of prayer and sharing in Christ’s mysteries, as the rosary promotes, adorns her on the inside. At the end of time, gold and diamonds will prove not to last forever. The fruits of the spiritual life however, will be like treasure in Heaven for eternity.
The only cure for vanity is that our one desire be for God alone. Would that people went about complementing women on their love of God and their walking in His ways, rather than on their appearances!
The book of Proverbs tells us that charm is deceiving and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. We are like flowers that bloom and wither but the fragrance of our spirit actually lasts forever.
