“…to give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness…”
Isaiah 61:3
When I look at the definition of beauty on the Mirriam-Webster dictionary online, there are multiple definitions that show up, but the ones I like the most are these:
Beauty:
3: a particularly graceful, ornamental, or excellent quality
4: a brilliant, extreme, or egregious example or instance
Moving to a foreign country, where I am not surrounded by magazines filled with airbrushed supermodels, and Pinterest worthy super-moms, has made me reflect and actually think about what I think is beauty. What does beauty even look like? Do we have a distorted view of beauty, and with that, are we striving to be something we may never actually be?
I love how the Bible tells us that God will give us “beauty for the ashes…”. For me, the beauty from the ashes came when I met Jason 8 years ago. For those of you who know me, and know what I was going through, you know what I am talking about. For those that don’t know, I will tell you that through some pretty traumatic events that happened to me, I was at a very low place in my life, BUT GOD, in His all knowing and ever graceful and loving ways, brought Jason into my life at that very time. It was through the love that Jason freely gave me, that I was able to recognize the beauty that God had for my life. 8 years later, we have 4 beautiful children who show me the beauty of God everyday! We are blessed to now live in Thailand, where we are surrounded by so many examples of God’s beauty.
And shouldn’t God’s beauty be what we are striving for anyway?
I can remember being about 9 or 10 years old, and a girl that lived down the street, who was 1 or 2 years younger than me( she had blonde hair, blue eyes and no freckles) came to my house and told me, “ You know, nobody is ever going to want to marry you because you have ugly brown hair and freckles on your face. Boys only like girls who have blonde hair and blue eyes.” Yeah, I’m not making that up, it really happened. But I didn’t care, ok, well, maybe I cared a little and did what Marsha Brady did and tried to wash the freckles away with lemon juice…but I digress. The point is, 20+ years later my freckles are still here, in fact they have probably multiplied. That girl probably wouldn’t even want to look at me anymore….ok, back on track here. The real point is, God created me in His image so there must be beauty. Maybe you don’t see it when you look at me, she certainly didn’t, but I know God sees it. And I also know that Jason (the man who married the brown haired freckle girl), sees it too. And when I walk down the stairs in the morning looking like a hot mess (that is not a good thing in case you wondering) and my breath smells something horrid (ok, don’t pretend your breath never stinks in the morning), my 2 little boys never fail to tell me “mommy, you look beautiful today”. Just another reminder of true beauty from my God.
Back home, we spend so much money on safety “devices” for our kids. Ok, so I think we should be safe with our kids, but to be perfectly honest I think we have gone a little overboard. Who remembers being a kid and not having to wear a seat belt? Or when we would do the double buckle or even the triple buckle…walking on the wild side! What the heck is with having to keep our kids in booster seats/car seats until they are like 8 or 9 years old? I don’t remember ever having to wear a helmet when I rode a bike. Now I see kids riding tricycles wearing helmets. Seriously?!?! Ok, so safety is good, but are we teaching our kids just to live safely and never take any risks? Are we letting them climb the jungle gym, do the monkey bars, and spin on that spinny thing, or are we asking them to keep their feet on the ground to reduce any chances of injury?
Here in Thailand, I have found their approach to life to be completely different than the States, and yet, I have seen so much beauty in it. Let’s just say that safety does not seem to be their number 1 concern…for example, just down the street we could actually reach up and touch the power lines as we are walking on the sidewalk…
As we left the States, we left all of our car seats/booster seats there as well….gasp…I know! All 4 of our kids ride in the car with just their seatbelt! And get this…we have fit 7 people in a 5 seater car (Faith sat on my lap in the front seat!!) But that’s not all…we have fit 11 people in a 7 seater!! Crazy right ! But guess what, my kids loved it, and well, I kind of did too. I find beauty in the laughter of my children and hearing them tell me what fun they had!
I find beauty in seeing the way the Thai families ride down the road on their motorbikes. Yes, a family will ride on a motorbike. Just last night we saw a dad driving it, with a boy behind him, followed by the mom, who also had a child sitting behind her. And the motor bike was pulling a cart that had 2 more kids in it. No helmets. But guess what? The kids had smiles on their faces. I don’t know that families story, but I know I see families like that every day. And I know that they probably can’t afford a car, but they have to get to work, and they have to get around places, so they do what they have to do. And that is a beautiful thing, to see people embrace their life and circumstances and not let it hold them back. To see their ‘beauty from the ashes’…
I have seen beauty in the smiles of the ladies that work at the markets selling their fruits and vegetables. You would never see them on the cover of a magazine back in the States, but God sees their beauty. And when you look at them through the eyes of God, you can see their beauty too. There is beauty in the relationships that can be made through the simple process of buying fruits and veggies from a hard working individual.
Even though we have only been here for a few weeks, I have seen the beauty in living a simple life. Sure, things are different for us. We had to teach our kids to not drink the water, even when brushing their teeth. We have had to learn to drive on the other side of the road, while sitting on the opposite side of the car. We wash our dishes with cold water, because there is no hot water tank (we do have a water heater in the bathroom for showers). And I have had to learn to hand wash our clothes in the bathtub… I have learned to spend that time worshipping God and with my kid’s right alongside me, I actually enjoy it. Truly, there is beauty in unplugging from the chaotic life of chasing the American Dream, and living a simple life embracing the beauty that God has put all around us.
The most important thing is that we have seen the beauty in the Thai people as God sees them. We had the honor of attending prayer night at ZOE the other night, and let me tell you…those kids are some of the most beautiful kids I have ever met. There is beauty in their eyes and their smile that can only come from God. These kids are amazing. God has done a transforming of their hearts and to hear them pray, or speak the Word, or even have them pray over you, is to catch a glimpse of the love of the Father. God has given them such beauty, joy and praise and we are so humbled to be here and to be a part of such an amazing work.
In this culture, it is a beautiful thing to be white. No suntan is a good thing. Perfect for this girl who has legs that may actually glow in the dark. I will embrace that beauty. When we go out to the store, the employees actually follow us around, pick up our kids and take their pictures with them because they are so fair skinned and with their light hair and blue eyes they become quite the attraction. It is beautiful to see our kids embrace it, knowing it is the Thai culture, and just smile at the people. I’m sure after a while they might not like it so much, but for now they are loving it.
Today, as you go about your day, I challenge you to find beauty where you wouldn’t normally look. Take a moment and look at yourself as God sees you and know that He created you in His image…a beautiful image. Let go of the ashes you are holding onto and allow God to show you the beauty He sees in you. I also would challenge you to let yourself become unplugged for a while. Enjoy the beauty that God has placed right in front of you. Enjoy the moments you are living right now, and allow Him to bring you to the place where you can see the beauty and joy in your own life, that you may then Praise Him for it.