i was driving to work last night, and this song came on. It wasn't the first time I've heard the song, nor was it the first time it's touched me. Nevertheless, last night it struck me in a particular way, and i found myself driving down the road, music turned up, tapping the steering wheel.
How do we define beauty?
I don't always feel beautiful physically- especially when, as has been the case lately, I encounter myself in the mirror at work slightly sick, looking tired, and with the visible proof of the weight I have gained. (Which in my mind is evident proof of how out of shape I have become, compared to the devoted runner I once was.)
(By the way- does anyone else harbor the conspiracy theory that the makers of ladies' room mirrors are financially connected to the cosmetics industry?)
Nor do I always feel inwardly beautiful. There are times when my failures dog my conscience, when I realize how dirty my house is or how much more productive I could be, how unloving I was at work, or how poorly that day I reflected Christ.
That however, is the beauty of this song about beauty. It reminds us that beauty isn't made of how we look, or how we measure up to our standards. Beauty is made of God's creation and work in us. As I told my sister earlier this week, God is perfect and does not make worthless people.
He makes beautiful things out of us.
Tomorrow should I encounter myself in the ladies room mirror, probably still a bit sick and with hair hastily thrown in a ponytail, glasses slightly askance and held together with melted plastic and metal, feeling slightly guilty due to my lack of productivity, or frustration with a coworker, or tendency to gossip, I hope I remember this.
I hope I allow Him, too, to make me the beautiful thing He has planned, to be a willing creation.
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