This is a picture of my brother and sisters and I on Easter Sunday this year. We're super cute, I know. I love those guys so so much. But the reason I'm including this picture in my blog is to show you how beautiful my baby sister is. She's the one with the brown hair and glasses and pink sweater.
You know the feeling of putting on Chacos after a long cold winter? It feels like your feet were made for your Chacos and they couldn't fit better. It's somewhat similar to when Prince Charming puts the glass slipper on Cinderella's foot, except for way better because you can actually walk in Chacos. And do a lot of other stuff and that's why I love them so much.
Well, I love my sister more than I love that feeling. And that's a lot, because that is my favorite feeling in the world. I'm serious.
I'm writing about my sister today because she doesn't think she's pretty. Just look at her. Scroll back up and look at that cute little girl's face. How heartbreaking is it that someone so beautiful and so wonderful doesn't believe me when I tell her she's pretty?
This is not okay with me. It hurts my heart very much. She is in fourth grade and she does not need to worry about what she looks like. No one should have to.
The Bible says, "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, my soul knows it very well." (Psalm 139:13-14). And I think that this can kind of be read two ways. It can be taken a more selfish way, or a more selfless way.
The more selfish way would be reading this as promoting yourself and your own appearance. As in, "Hey, God did a good job with me. Thanks, God, for making me so beautiful and wonderful." But that totally disregards what the psalmist says right before that, when he says, "I praise you." I think that what the psalmist meant when he wrote this is that God doesn't mess up. He makes us how He makes us on purpose. He gave Sallie freckles on purpose (and I'm so glad he did because they are super cute). Also it doesn't matter so much what we look like, because we're here to glorify God, not ourselves. Not. Ourselves.
It's so so easy to say that and not believe it.
What it seems to boil down to is security. Where are we finding our security? Where are you finding your security? If you're finding it in your appearance then prepare to be disappointed because it's physically impossible to look good all the time. For reals. If you're finding your security in the God who formed you in your mother's womb, you, specifically, and leaning and relying on Him for all of your everything, you're not going to be disappointed.
It's definitely easier said than done, but that's why we have so many reminders. Like the catechism: "What is man's chief end?...Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." If we're focused on doing that and only that, we won't worry about our looks or the zits on our foreheads or the dents in our legs or developing backne or the fact that today we have frizzy hair, because we won't care! All we will care about is loving and praising and worshipping our God all the time.
It is such an honor to be made in the image of God. I'm serious. Think about it. Everybody loves music. Everybody likes musicians who have new, cool, unique music and lyrics, who break barriers and come up with new sounds. Okay well God came up with music. The whole thing was entirely His idea and I just can't even comprehend that but I love it. Also He created everything else ever. That's a lot of stuff. And in the same way that He created the Grand Canyon and chocolate and the color blue, He created you. On purpose. What an honor, what a privilege!
Okay now listen to this song and try not to explode with thankfulness and joy for our creative and patient (incredibly patient) God who loves us even when we, time and time again, turn our backs on Him (consciously, not even just because we're silly. We on purpose neglect Him because we're stubborn and dumb), and who continues to, time and time again, daily, love us. Just love us. Also die for all those things that we deliberately did that were against Him. He continues to keep us as treasures in His eyes! It's not even just that we're in time out, sitting in a corner and hoping He'll maybe one day forgive us but probably not. No, it's that He forgave us already, already paid for all the awful things we've done and are going to do that are the opposite of what He commands us to do and He still loves us even though He doesn't need us. And He still wants to save us and He still wants to keep us warm and He still wants to be our God. And He is.
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?" Sometimes I like to add extra things into this passage, like calculus or money or sleep deprivation or annoying people. This time I'm adding appearances. Shall tribulation, or distress, or appearances, or persecution, or freckles, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35, 37-39). We are more than conquerors! There is nothing, in all creation, that can separate us from the love of our Savior. There ain't nothin. Even on our most rebellious, independent and spiteful days, nothing can separate us from His love.
"You make me beautiful, You make me stand in awe, You step inside my heart, and I am amazed. I love to hear you say who I am is quite enough. You make me worthy of love and beautiful!" - Bethany Dillon
Love,
Lauralicious
I think this may be my favorite post yet :)
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