-Bubbles catching the sunlight.
-The bright glow from your window when you wake up and it snowed.
-The warmness of chocolatey brownies with the coldness of vanilla ice cream.
-The key change in Carrying the Banner from Newsies (listen here, prepare for chills at 4:28).
-Sunrises over the perfectly straight horizon at the beach.
-The whiff of yumminess you get right when you step into Subway.
-Laughing so hard you can physically feel your 6-pack forming.
-String lights.
-Lavender candles that crackle when they burn.
-Putting on fuzzy socks right out of the dryer.
-Riding by canola fields in the summer.
-The floating lantern scene in Tangled.
-A strand of cotton under a microscope
-Shooting stars
What do all of these things have in common?
They’re beautiful. To me, at least.
beautiful (adj.)
/ˈbyo͞odəfəl/
pleasing to the senses or the mind aesthetically
Take just a second and make a mental (or write a list if you have a nonexistent memory, like myself) of more things that are beautiful to YOU...
Did you add... the Eiffel Tower? Super green grass? The SMELL of the super green grass? The sound of a baby laughing? Mountains in the fall? Steamy waterfalls? A cold glass of water when you’re super-craving it? A hawk gliding through the wind? Intricate architecture? A really old forest? The Mona Lisa? A The reflection of a landscape on perfectly still water? Diamonds? Fireworks? Water lilies?
What about yourself?
Did you list yourself as beautiful?
God created so many beautiful things (maybe not the floating lantern scene from Tangled, but he created the minds who came up with the idea), and he also made you. In our society, especially with girls, we are made to think that we have to have “perfect” hair, “perfect” teeth, a “perfect” face, a “perfect” body, and a “perfect” life. We are pushed to think that our makeup, hair, figure, clothes, and jewelry make us beautiful.
This is not true.
We are created PERFECTLY, without the makeup and fancy clothes. God designed our bodies according to His will, in the most beautiful way possible. Everyone has a different part in the Plan, so doesn’t it make sense for everyone to look different from each other? Like, how BORING would it be if we were all 5’4”, had plain white skin, gray eyes and gray, stick straight, shoulder-length hair?! SUPER boring, that’s how. But luckily, God drew up a blueprint (before we were even born) that included our height, weight, hair color, eye color, skin color, facial features, and even every cell in our body. He didn’t press a button that says “random” like when you create a character in The Sims. He planned every part of our being, and he planned it perfectly. He didn’t mess up. You are exactly how you were meant to be.
“You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.”
-Song of Songs 4:7 (NIV)
Before we continue, I’m not saying that makeup, clothes, and accessories are from the Devil. I wear all of those things (especially clothes) on a regular basis. But, I think it’s important to use each of these things to ENHANCE your natural beauty that God blessed you with - not modify it.
Back to the Plan. How can our bodies affect the way we carry out God’s Plan? Well, I can’t tell you the answer for your life. But there are so many tiny examples you may not even realize are leading to bigger and better things! You may never even see the result.
Let’s say you’re in Target one day, and you’re heading to the Easter candy section (in honor of the current discounts on Easter candy - yes). You are scoping out all of the Reese’s eggs just WAITING for you to consume, when a shorter lady comes up beside you. She is trying to reach a box of little pink Peeps on the top shelf, but she can’t quite reach it. So you, being able to reach, grab the little pink Peeps for the lady and set it in her buggy. “Thank you so much,” the lady says. You smile and say, “You’re welcome!” Then, you head to the cleaning aisle, get your Clorox wipes, and head home.
“Cool story, Maddy. But that has nothing to do with my body and God.”
I’M NOT DONE.
This lady had the same problem three more times while she was in Target that day, and every time it happened, a stranger would walk up and help her, with no hesitation. So the third time, she was like, “Okay, everyone sure does seem FRIENDLY today.” She asked the man who helped her, “Why were you so quick to help me? You don’t even know me!” The man replied, “Well, I’ve grown up in church, and they always told me to ‘treat others like you would want to be treated.’ I would want help if I were you, so I helped you!” The lady and the man talk for a few more minutes about the man’s religion, and he eventually invites her to church. She says yes. She goes to church with him, she goes a few more times, then she goes every Sunday. She gets saved, she moves to a poverty-ridden country, and she starts a charity to help bring the people in that country clean water. She teaches the country about Jesus, and she ends up saving thousands of lives. The End.
P.S. They may even end up getting married, who knows?
Okay, so this was a bit of a Vacation Bible School, children’s play, soap opera level of dramatization. It was a stretch, and it was very cheesy - I know. The point is, the tiny things that may not seem important to you can change someone else’s entire life! God has made it so that even the smallest things, like being 6” taller than someone, can completely change your life or someone else’s! You may be the small lady, who was moved by other folk’s helpfulness and ends up saving a third world country... or you may be the tall one, who is in the right place at the right time and you never know how you impacted someone’s life… maybe just by grabbing the little pink Peeps off the top shelf.
Either way, your body is perfect and you should never “ugh, I hate...” it. Love your body. Protect your body, it literally carries you through life. It’s your soul’s shell. Don’t hurt your body, don’t put bad things into your body, don’t expose your body in immodest ways. Just LOVE your body! Thank God for your body. It is beautiful. I mean, GOD designed it!
“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”
-1 Peter 3:3-4 (NIV)
Remember… beautiful: “pleasing to the senses.”
We have 5 senses: sight, touch, sound, taste, smell. How can we be beautiful THROUGHOUT? Or, like Peter just called it, within our inner self.
We’ve crossed off the “sight” portion. You look absolutely beautiful (JUST THE WAY YOU AREEEEEEE).
So, “touch.” We touch so many things every day. You may be super touchy to other people, or you may not be super touchy at all. When it comes to physical touch - be gentle and kind. I used to have this problem when I played basketball and my adrenaline would start rushing. I actually gave one girl a bloody nose one time and the game was delayed for 15 minutes to clean up the blood. Yes, I did cry afterwards, I am a very sensitive person and I take absolutely everything to heart. There is no “don’t take this personally” or “this is not directed towards you.” Everything is personal and everything is directed towards me. Therefore, I cry. ANYWAYS, physical touch is important, but so is “staying in” touch. Keep in touch with people you care about and want to spend your time with, communicate with them. Make sure they know that they are important to you. Don’t expect them to call you or set up a lunch date first, do it yourself! Have people in your life who you talk to on a regular basis, don’t shut people out. Be friendly and sociable!
On to “sound.” Are the sounds you hear everyday making your heart more or less beautiful? Is it pleasing to the senses? While we all know those songs that have cussing or bad meanings in them - that may be EXTREMELY catchy, cough, cough - are they really making us more beautiful on the inside? The more you hear about drugs, sex, alcohol, etc., the more it’s going to become a “norm” to you. The same goes with friends. The more you hear stories about how your friends are doing these things, it’s hurting YOU in the long run, even if you aren’t physically doing those things. It erodes your heart.
Surround yourself with sounds of love, encouragement, and positivity! If there is someone in your life who is constantly making you feel bad, do not stay close to them. Now, I’m not saying to shut them out! Share God’s love and give them happy words, but do not let their lifestyle change yours.
Giving happy words leads us to “taste.” And no, literally tasting beautiful is not the route I’m going to take here. That’s icky. We’re going to talk about what we taste when we talk: our words. Beautiful words are words that support and uplift others… and yourself. Give people encouraging words when they need it, congratulate them when they do something good, ask questions when they tell you about something they’re interested in, respect them with your words, lift them up! And don’t forget to lift yourself up, too. Remember that everyone you come in contact with can be impacted by your words, so speak wisely!
Everyone can also sense what kind of mood you are in by “smell.” You may think I’m a crazy hippie from the previous remark, but I actually just read a study in psychology that said that people can actually sense other people’s emotions by their smell. Is that not freaky?! To be honest, it made me a little self conscious, so I will probably start taking extra deodorant places where I know I’m gonna get really excited. Anyways, since that’s true, then shouldn’t you make a point to try to have a positive disposition about you? A cheerful mood is contagious, believe me. Jared Melton proves that to me; he can cheer me up just by looking at me, even when I am having the most horrible of days. Happiness makes every day good! I mean, really… have you ever said, “Yeah, my day was horrible. I was too joyous.”
YOU CAN NEVER BE TOO JOYOUS. Happiness is beautiful.
Beauty is not just what’s on the outside - it’s your heart. Your heart is your source of beauty.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
-Matthew 6:21 (NIV)
You are created perfectly...
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
-Psalm 139:14 (NIV)
