Different Kind of Makeover

I recently learned the story of Candy Wood Lindley, author of Face of Faith: Discovering a Different Kind of Makeover, through a post on Rest Ministries (chronic pain and illness encouragement ministry). I hope to share more about her story and books at some future date, but I am so moved by the little I do know of her so far that I wanted to go ahead and repost what I learned from Rest Ministries here during our Virtual Spa Weekend, even though I haven't yet had a chance to personally review her book yet. (For those dealing with inferitlity or loss, please be aware that children are briefly mentioned in this article.)

In a world obsessed with perfection of the outer appearance and makeovers of every kind, Candy discovered a different kind of makeover—one that lasts—a makeover of the heart.
Candy’s life seemed to have fallen into place. Blessed with an idyllic childhood and loving parents who doted on their precocious only child with a mind of her own, she grew up with grace and charm in the Old South of the 1950s and ’60s.
As a speech and drama major at the University of Alabama, vivacious, petite Candy channeled her boundless energy and passion to be “on stage.” Marriage, blessed with two darling children, followed … and then the diagnosis at age 30 that changed her life and her looks forever.
Her only chance at survival was a surgery so drastic that, according to her doctors, she would lose the greater portion of her face including the right eye and possibly the left, leaving her severely deformed. Candy awoke with a new face on the outside and a renewed commitment to her Lord on the inside.
On life’s stage, Candy chose to surrender to a different kind of makeover by the Master’s hands.
In her book, Face of Faith, Candy tells her amazing story—a true medical miracle—as she set out to discover who she was apart from her physical looks.
When doctors told Candy Wood Lindley that she had six months to live, she prayed that God would allow her to see her two young children grow up. That was 1982.
Candy was diagnosed with a baseball-sized tumor in the center of her head. Eight surgeries and several years later, she was left facially disfigured but determined to make the most of what she had. In 1987, she was one of twenty-five recipients of Clairol’s national “Take Charge Award,” given to women who have overcome obstacles and turned their lives around after the age of thirty.
This was awarded to her for the production of two nationally released videos, together called Let’s Face It. One dealt with makeup techniques for the facially disfigured and the other with wig and scarf applications for hair loss patients.
In 1997, she was given the Life Inspiration Award by the American Cancer Society. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons gave Candy their “Patients of Courage Award” in 2004, and she accepted the 2005 Legacy of Courage Award from Alabama’s For the Cause.
The co-author of the book is Kathi Macias, a popular speaker and prolific author. She has published twenty-two books and hundreds of articles.
Whether keyboarding her latest book, keynoting a conference, or riding on the back of her husband’s Harley, Kathi is a lady on a mission to communicate God’s vision. Her insightful words—filled with passion, humor, and soul nourishment—refresh audiences from all walks of life, and her Spanish devotionals, “Desde el Corazon del Padre” (with English translations), can be found on www.Crosswalk.com each Monday.
Her newest book, Beyond Me: Living a You-First Life in a Me-First World, was released in July 2008 from New Hope Publishers and was named “top pick” in the Christian Living category by Christian Retailing Magazine.