“There should be about our manner, our speech, our dress, our whole behavior, that simplicity which is the soul of beauty.” Charles Spurgeon

Well… It is May 24th, my Birthday Eve. It is only fitting that today’s devotional included one of my favorite quotes by Charles Spurgeon. I shared it at the top of this post. Ahhh….. The Soul of Beauty. Just the thought comforted my heart as I do what I do when birthdays approach. I notice a few extra wrinkles. I am having to work harder to lose weight. I am reassessing life and dreams. Don’t get me wrong. I am fulfilled and content. It’s just that, I am one year farther away from the world’s standard of beauty. You know. Skinny this and Skinny that. Flashy this and Flashy that.

I am embarrassed to admit this out loud but… I still feel beauty-full 😊 (Part of me thinks I need to go to confession for admitting such a thing. It goes against so many un/spoken rules. I’ll process that more later. Ha! I’m leaving this here though - because it’s my Birthday Eve!)

Truth be told. We are all created in the image of God. He is the one who paints the sky with blues and purples and oranges and pinks. He is the one who created seed time and harvest with untold variations of flowers with aromas of lilacs and roses and magnolias…………. oh my heart! Beauty was His idea. Not mine. And! He is absolutely beautiful beyond description. There are no words to capture the brilliance that radiates out of him as: The Bright Morning Star. The Lily of The Valley. The Sunrise of My Soul.

What if this world’s continual search for beauty is really an unconscious search for The Beautiful One? What if this world’s continual search to fix brokenness in beauty is more a search to fix brokenness that does not measure up to the glorious beauty of God’s presence? Maybe I am reading too much into this? Maybe not? Maybe it’s just birthday time so I am extra contemplative? (Help me, Lord.)

Regardless of all the ends and outs. This I know. God loves us. He delights in His beauty being expressed through us. It’s not about how much color we do or do not wear. It’s not about how much jewelry we do or do not put on. It’s not about straight hair or curly hair or frizzy hair (although I thank God for Keratin treatments and hair color!). It’s ultimately about the hidden places of the heart.

My prayer for you today is that you will notice, even more, how beautiful God is, how beautiful nature is, and how beautiful You are.

Have a beautiful day, Beauty-Full Ones!

Mary♡