.BEAUTY THAT COMES FROM GOD
Before Easter, I was given a lovely, potted rubrum lily in full bloom. A centerpiece of great beauty!
But now the plant is withering. I’ve clipped off several dying blossoms. And many of its leaves are falling off. Those leaves are fit only for the garbage can, right? But, wait! The veiny look is still appealing. Artist that I am, I think of capturing that look. What if I lay out some of those leaves on my scanner bed?
Hmmm. Not a bad pattern! But I can make an even more intricate design. A sprinkling of thread flowers (tatted) around the leaves. And above that layer, a paper on which I’d previously streaked some paint to create a background. Wow! Now a new design really comes alive. It’s not the same as the original, which was an abundantly blooming lily. But it’s a bright and perky new design. And underneath, the bulbs still live – and, if planted in the ground outside, will bloom again for a number of years.
Sometimes I can relate to the slowly-withering rubrum lily. Any possible beauty I ever saw in myself, seems to have faded away. Some of my good traits feel like they’re falling off, leaving behind discouragement, discontent, or a distant-ness.
But God created my beauty to be like a rubrum lily. He sees what I feel are dead parts, as if they’re ever alive. He goes on adding his own unique touches. During my seemingly-dormant seasons, he adds more of his own exquisite patterns and great surprises. Also, the bulb of my spirit breathed on by his Holy Spirit, is still alive. Because of his tender care and grace, I will re-grow and re-shape and re-bloom where he has planted me. I won’t be the same person that I used to be. I probably won’t even be the creation I THOUGHT he was making of me. He who is FULL BEAUTY himself, always will tend to the full depth of the beauty he is ever-placing in me.
“Behold the beauty of the Lord…”
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This post is shared with "Seedlings in Stone" and "Playdates with God"
This is so beautiful! You are so much fun with how create and how creatively you see and what fun you have playing. I love the message you received and shared from this experience, about beauty, as created and molded by God.
ReplyDeleteoh, God is making us beautiful in His master way. i wrote about beauty as well--i just had to see what you had to say about it. blessings.
ReplyDelete"But God created my beauty to be like a rubrum lily. He sees what I feel are dead parts, as if they’re ever alive. He goes on adding his own unique touches. During my seemingly-dormant seasons, he adds more of his own exquisite patterns and great surprises."
ReplyDeleteThis gave me goosebumps. He sees me. All of me. And sees me beautiful. That stills me. Such a wave of gratitude just washed over me. And your leaf art is just beautiful. The perfect way to see the beauty always alive.