Beauty

Life is changing each breath I take these days. I am currently evacuated to my parent's home while the flood ominously threatens our city. My fear is the loss of things while I know full well they are just things. My anxiety is the idea of moving whatever might be left and what might not be when I return home. See, I move in about a month, possibly sooner, to a new life. And there is a lot of change involved in that. But I'm ready, I think. I'm definitely ready to make the journey anyway...

An idea that has been rolling around in my head the past few weeks in regards to the title of this new blog, is the idea of where or who or what we get our identity from. Particularly our idea of beauty for the purposes of this post. I am reading this wonderful book called "Life of the Beloved" by Henri Nouwen and it's changing my heart. I see a little more clearly each chapter I read how I view myself versus how God views me as His Beloved. And one area I struggle with, and I fear we all might to some degree, is the area of how I perceive my attractiveness. See, I do actually think I'm an attractive person (well, on a good day anyway), but what are the determining factors for me of that conclusion? Do i find my features to be attractive - sparkling eyes, nice haircut, cute nose? Or is some other factor determining it like attracting a guy or receiving compliments? And the day I began asking this question I realized that I did not in fact find myself to be beautiful as I was not attracting a guy. but I don't even really care if I have one right now anyway, so why would my finding myself attractive hinge on that indicator? And here is where I come face to face with the reality that I do not in fact embrace my Belovedness which Henri Nouwen speaks of in this tiny book.

Embracing Belovedness means believing that you are in fact a beautiful creation, not intended for some man or job, but to be rejoiced over by your Creator. It means knowing that your worth and purpose are wrapped up in the holiness and righeousness and joy of Jesus Christ. You are in fact already completely known and loved nonetheless by God. To fully embrace that and believe it and know it in each and every area of your life means to set aside the lies we so easily believe about who we are and replace them with truth about who we were meant to be.

There's a great quote I just saw today on facebook flair that stated "I'd rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I am NOT" and I really appreciate that. We spend a lot of time I think trying to reach someone else's idea of our potential be it beauty or power or whatever rather than seeking the One who knows what that is in the most pure way and can lead us into that potential. So today, may we see our beauty and worth through the eyes of our Father who sees us so clearly.