Beauty and the Beholder

I have the most precious, fun-loving, energetic, adorable, smart, caring, sweet, ornery 23 month old niece in the whole world, and yes, I am biased.  No, we're of no blood relation, but when she runs up to me, arms waving in the air, yelling, "Nea nea, hold you!" blood means nothing. She's won my heart, and I'll forever be her auntie.

This adored niece of mine has taught me quite a lot about life in her short time span thus far. Through her eyes, the world is pure and full of potential. Love is clean and laughter is genuine, just as it should be. She is the epitome of all things lovely.

Today, as we endeavored through a two and a half hour morning marathon process of relatively simple tasks like showering, dressing, and general hygiene, she said three of the most prized words I've ever heard:

Nea nea, so pretty! Nea nea, so pretty!

For clarity's sake, I didn't consider her words prized because they stroked my ego or embellished my vanity.  In that moment, I can assure you I fit no widely accepted definition of beauty, if any definition at all. My hair resembled that of Albert Einstein, my breath smelled like something out of a horror story, and I didn't have the first stitch of make-up covering my less than perfect skin...

..but maybe that's the point. Her little 23 month old mind isn't tainted by the North American definition of beauty that fades with a washcloth. She isn't yet stained by a culture that values attraction over attributes. Her perception isn't defined by cheap standards, but she recognizes beautiful things in a raw, unfiltered form that I wish I could comprehend.

She can't articulate that by which she measures beauty, but if she could, I imagine it might be something like this: Beauty is love, snuggling, playing with rocks, sharing half eaten food, and giving a thousand and two kisses. Beauty is the cat licking her paw, the weeds growing along the sidewalk, and a thousand other things that capture her attention and engage her senses. Love isn't a vocabulary lesson to this precious child, but rather an active and growing feeling in her heart that isn't bruised, broken, or jaded.

I think we can all learn something from this oversimplified reality. No, I don't think we have to abandoned cosmetics or start wearing around potato sacks to grasp accurate beauty standards, but I think we ought to examine the what, who, and how of our own adopted, internal specifications of beauty and challenge the voices in our minds that lie. We owe it to ourselves, our friends, our siblings, and our children to expand our definitions beyond that which is temporal. Seek out truth, my friends.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye."
-Miss Piggy, The Muppets

Music and Jesus

Have you ever really considered music? If you asked my opinion, I would tell you that I think music is one of the most beautiful expressions of the human language. It encompasses moods, conquers emotions, and unites strangers; it can lift spirits and break through even the most rugged of hearts. Music speaks to people, and when there aren't any other appropriate words, sometimes a song can say it all.

Yesterday afternoon I was driving all around town, clinging to any shred of sanity I had left. I had worship music playing quietly through my stereo, though I wasn't much engaged. I got caught at a red light that I didn't have time for and the following song lyrics demanded my attention:

Lord, reign in me.
Reign in your power.
Over all my dreams, in my darkest hour.
You are the Lord, of all I am.
Won't you reign in me again?

This song is probably older than I am, and I've heard it close to a bazillion times; even so, it stopped me in my tracks. It's easy for the believer to ask for the Lord's reign when times are good, life is going exactly according to our human plans, our dreams our big, our bank accounts flourishing, and we don't have a single scenario before us that would require a trust walk. It is, however, not so easy when the opposite is true and we're walking through our darkest hours. Maybe, just maybe, that's when we need this song the most.

Lord, reign in me. Yes, by all means, because even my best laid plans are fizzling. I need your authority to guide my life. I know your reign is far better.
Reign in your power. I feel powerless, but I know you have conquered all. Whatever today brings and despite the situations I'm facing, you are greater still.
Over all my dreams, in my darkest hour. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death... Lord, I need you.
You are the Lord, of all I am. The good, the bad, and the ugly, I give it to you. I am yours. Do what you will. Use me where you can. I may be chipped and cracked and nearly broken, but I am still your vessel.
Won't you reign in me again? And again, and again, and again. I need you, oh I need you. Every hour, I need you.

I don't know about any of you reading this blog, but I don't always feel very spiritual when I'm in the midst of a battle, or battles, as sometimes the case may be, but it's refreshing to know that I don't war alone. It's also encouraging to know that I can sit at an over-timed traffic light and whisper five lines of quiet trust and know the God of the universe hears my utterances. The best news yet is that He'll hear your calls of desperation, too. He's waiting...

Happy Easter, my friends!