"To possess true beauty, we must be willing to suffer. I don't like that. Just writing it down makes my heart shrink back. Yet, if Christ Himself was perfected through His sufferings, why would I believe God would not do the same with me? Women who are stunningly beautiful are women who have had their hearts enlarged by suffering. By saying, 'Yes' when the world says 'No.' By paying the high price of loving truly and honestly without demanding that they be loved in return. And by refusing to numb their pain in the myriad of ways available. They have come to know that when everyone and everything else has left them, God is there.
Living in true beauty can require much waiting, much time, much tenacity of spirit...because it is a rare woman who chooses to keep her heart alive in this dangerous world. As we gaze on Jesus, as we behold His goodness, His glory, we are changed into His likeness, the most beautiful Person of all."
(Excerpt from Captivating by Stasi Eldredge)
Oh, beauty. I don't think there is a woman in the world who doesn't want to be beautiful, or at least wanted to at some point in her life. But I think we all know that God's idea of beauty and the world's idea of beauty are quite different. The world is focused on physical beauty. They judge beauty based on aesthetic appearance. God, on the other hand, seems a lot more concerned with the beauty of His children's hearts and less with their physical appearance. He is more interested in loving, pure, holy hearts than he is in athletic frames (although, I'm sure He appreciates our aerobic efforts as well). With this understanding in mind, a particular piece of the excerpt above caught my eye:
"...it is a rare woman who chooses to keep her heart alive in this dangerous world."
Keeping my heart alive in this dangerous world? I think it was the verbiage that really grabbed me. It looks like such a life-and-death kind of statement. Could my heart really die as a result of the cares and hurts that come in life? As I sat and thought about it a little more, I realized that, yes, there is definitely a way I could let my heart die. Going a little further, I could even kill my heart if I chose to.
There is no question that life has ups and it has downs. There are times of indescribable joy, and times of heart-wrenching pain and sorrow. I wish my life were a permanent joy-fest, but that won't happen until I get to my REAL home in Heaven. I'm not trying to make this sound like a gloomy blog, I love my life. I'm blessed in more ways than I deserve, but that doesn't mean that I live a pain-free, sorrow-free existence. I do, however, live a "despair-free" existence. That's because I know that I have a Heavenly Father who is continually working all things together for my good. I know that, even when things don't appear to be working out the way I wanted them to, or in the time frame I had in mind, God is still running the show.
What does any of this have to do with beauty? I think a truly beautiful woman is one who chooses to keep her heart open even after it's been hurt. She knows who her God is and trusts that He, first and foremost, is the One who holds her heart in His hands. Like Stasi said, she "...says 'Yes' when the world says 'No'." When most people would shut their hearts down to avoid any future injury, a beautiful woman remains vulnerable, open, loving, and trusting. If you ask me, that is a demonstration of faith. By choosing to keep her heart open, she shows that she trusts God to take care of her heart, no matter what other people may do to it.
My prayer, and my heart's desire, is that God would show me how to be that kind of woman, one that is truly beautiful. That He would help me keep my heart open. I pray that I will always be willing to share myself, my REAL self, with others... even if it means enduring some heartache. Maybe there is some truth to that old saying, "Pain is beauty and beauty is pain." Just, perhaps, not in the way most people think.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
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