Beauty in a Moment

Today I had a most fabulous hour with a dear friend. As I sat across the picnic table from her, I realized how absolutely mysterious beauty really is...

For the first time in all my years knowing my friend, I have never stopped to think in detail of the changes and differences that have occurred in her. Until today.

As I sat across from her, listening to her share about the power of God in her heart and life this past week, I realized that life's little, daily experiences have shaped her into a person I hardly recognize. How is it possible to have the familiarity of a friendship and relationship, yet stare at that person one day and realize you don't even know who they are? As I gazed at my friend, I realized that she has become an object of beauty that far outweighs what is seen on the outside. I started to think to myself, "What is beauty, really?"

In our culture, especially as women, we compare and contrast every part of our body with that of what we see next to us, on television, or in a magazine. We have come to believe that beauty is in the shape of our thighs, the tanness of our skin, the thinness in our waist. Yet there is this inner desire to be something else, to be more beautiful and better looking. We have a false idea of what beauty really is.

The one thing our culture never teaches us is the beauty of what is inside of us: the heart. Each of us has one, nobody can live without one. Yet we hardly ever give consideration to the heart of those around us. What would life be like if we were to start comparing our hearts? What if we stopped thinking and caring about what we looked like on the outside and started cleaning up what is inside? What if we started taking the time to ask others about their hearts, about the issues that bothered them the most, about the feelings and desires that other people have?

Why do we think beauty is on the outside when it is really hidden away and concealed on the inside?

Today, I heard things come from the mouth of my friend that told me she has a heart of beauty. No matter what she looked like on the outside, she was radiating beauty because of what was in her heart. The more she spoke and shared her life with me: her joys, concerns, frustrations, confusions, and excitements, the more I realized and saw that radiance!

Every one of us desires our hearts to be known and cared about. I think we are all walking fake when we conceal our hearts. I have been challenged to put aside the outter appearance of myself and those I meet in exchange for finding true beauty.

What would life be like if we took more time to explore the hearts behind people?

What is beauty?

Food for thought that will fill me up this week.

Ephesians 1:12