Beauty

When will we see Beauty for what it really is?

It is not am image in a magazine, a record jacket or a movie screen.
It is not found in being under 120 pounds or the quest to obtain it.
It is not in owning the biggest house, the newest car, the shiniest toy.
It is not in the season’s newest trends in

• hair color
• home décor
• cute boot-cut jeans
• the snazziest pair of heels.

All these things are pretty, but they do not capture the essence of Beauty. As a matter of fact, they pale in any sort of comparison to what true Beauty because these things do not unveil a Beauty that is within each one of us.

Beauty – true, honest, blinding Beauty - will take your breath away and make you long for more. It will fill you with a fullness, an awareness, an understanding that this Beauty was created solely for you to enjoy and to contribute.

Beauty is found in the break of mornings’ first light.

• the crimson of day’s end.
• the carol of playful birds.
• the chattering of supply-gathering squirrels.
• the due on spring’s new blooms.
• the frost on a resting ground.
• the roll of the endless sea.
• the wave of ripened wheat.
• the cleft in a mountain’s face.
• the silently falling snow on a winter’s night.

Beauty is in the smile of a stranger’s eyes.

• the chivalry of an opened door.
• the wisdom of a life experienced.
• the purchasing the order of the car behind you in the drive-thru.
• the enthusiasm of a joy that is to come.
• the giving to others who are in need.
• the hug of a friend who understands your hurts, your pain, your fears.
• the support of your family – biological or spiritual or blogging – when you feel that the earth is crumbling beneath your feet and you cannot stand your ground alone.

It is in the laughter of a happy baby.

• the face of a slumbering child.
• the snuggle of a human wake-up call.
• the offerings of a budding young artist.
• the playing with a child.
• the withered collection of hand-picked dandelions.
• the quick kiss of a busy, embarrassed youth.
• the loving discipline for the young… and old.

Beauty is in the friend who will tell you when you are mistaken and in the friend who will love you anyway. It is in the friend who will fight for you and cry for you and pray for you in the middle of the night. It is in the hearts who “bare all” its life lessons so that you will not suffer the same pain, the same humiliation, the same regret.

It is in the quiet giving up of self so that others may gain. It is in the compromising when being right doesn’t matter… and more so when you think it does.

Beauty is seen in the folding of laundry, the making of dinner, the tending to a sick one, the hours of sleeplessness so that comfort can be afforded for your family. It is visible in the never-ending cycle of work, whether that work is in the home, in an office or somewhere in between. Beauty is in the efforts of providing all that you can for those who you love and for those who you will never meet - missionaries, homeless shelters, orphans.

Beauty is in the receiving of flowers for no reason.

• the help of tucking in children when you are weary.
• the caretaking of a spouse when he/she is sick.
• the joyful watching of football when you would rather be doing something – anything –else.
• the patient shopping companion who helps you find the right look that you want.
• the relaxing foot massage at the end of a hard day.
• the surprise note of love hidden on your pillow.
• the quick call from someone to tell you that you are loved.
• the caressing of your cheek while your lover looks into your eyes.

It is in the church who strives to be the image of Christ - patient, forgiving, loving, dying to self for the glory of God.

It is in Christ himself who is Beauty personified in the obedience to his Father, even to the point of death. Beauty is seen further, clearer still in the empty grave.

Beauty is in the offering of mercy and the accepting of it. It is seen in the forgetting of past wrongs - yours and others.

Beauty is found in the idea that you are enough.

Beauty is a gift from God, not something to be earned or to be obtained by any amount of money or effort; rather Beauty is something to be appreciated just because it exists.

I hope, truly hope deep down in my heart, that you will see this Beauty that is all around you and in you. Do not be afraid to accept it and to share it with the world.

Go and be Beauty, for you are of God.