Seeking Beauty .... by Jocelyn Faire

I don't think of all the misery

but of the beauty that still remains.

  Anne Frank

Often when asked to give a self-descriptor, I have listed myself as a seeker of beauty …

I join David in Psalm 27:4
One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple

Simone Weil has said that two things that pierce the soul are beauty and suffering. When I ponder and experience these two, I know that both draw my soul to God; and I know beyond a doubt that the beauty in my life is what has kept me afloat many a time. While beauty may be in the eyes of the beholder, it is also the universal gift created by God to nudge us into relation with Him and dependence on Him. To clarify when I speak of beauty I mean that essence which takes your breath away, the things that move our souls. Suffering also draws us to Him, but in a much more painful way. Suffering feels inflicted more than gifted.

Beauty in nature is especially captivating. When I find a tiny flower in a forlorn spot, wildflowers in Australia, or watch the sunset over the oceans deep, a canola field in bloom next to blue flax in Manitoba; when I kayak a clear lake, or sit in the majesty of the Rocky Mountains, or spot the tiny blossom that sprouts from pavement cracks, my heart is aware that this is reminder of the hand of God in all places. 

In The Journey of Desire, John Eldredge nails it on the head for me ... he tells the story of a woman sitting in his office for counsel, years after a rape. She depicts the devastation which has lingered .... he notices an embroidered flower on her shirt; at its mention she speaks of beauty. It has been the only thing that has helped her cope in life. Sometimes she had to sit in the presence of beauty to allow her breath to continue. In proportion to the grief, I have needed the solace of beauty in my journey to life again.

Some days when the sun shines brightly I can wonder how could it ever have been so dark? Then I meet up with someone else who has lost a child, and I know that deep pain alongside them, I sense that looming black hole. These encounters remind me of the verses in 2 Cor 1, of sharing comfort for people in hard times, as God has done for me. My friend Dorothy tells me that my frequent reference to beauty in ordinary places has had her eyes open wide to it as well. I want to encourage others and myself to sense God's presence in all situations; His beauty is healing.

Finding flowers in remote spots is my evidence of God's ubiquitous grace. I wonder who will ever see them? Then I ask ... did you place this here just for me? Was that rainbow a reminder for me at the right time? At times the answer seems yes it was for me-it certainly was what I needed. At the same time I am aware that these events of beauty happen all around us. Beauty is heaven and earth's creative way of declaring the glory of the Lord.

Lord keep the eyes of my heart open ...
If I could put beauty to paper, images to word
paint to canvas, music to rhythm ...
If I could snap the right photo,
Hold a hand in time, seize the waterfall,
Even the dandelion pulled out as a weed
holds more beauty than words can tell
Tree of Life, Beauty of Love ...

Lord, I am left speechless, but not without beauty.

Searching through my photos for this post reminded me that God has continually surrounded me with His beauty, with His presence because it is found everywhere, in all countries, all climates. Flowers blossom both in the garbage heap and on spectacular coastlines.

Let me include three lines from my poem:

What are you looking for?
I'm looking for me, I am looking for You
I'm looking amidst beauty, because that is where I want to be found.

How She Loved – Denise M. Ford

While contemplating this month’s topic, creating beauty with words, it occurred to me that writing a eulogy presents a time to write beautiful images of a loved one. I recalled my recent conversation with my 88-year-old mother. She had described the memorial service for my Aunt Dolly. Both of them widows following decades of marriage, they had been daily confidantes sharing emotional heartaches and happy celebrations.

Mother lamented that no one spoke of Dolly’s genuine compassion, or constant devotion to every member of her family, immediate and extended.

“Everyone who spoke gave anecdotes of comical moments about how she joked and laughed with people,” my mother said. 

“What did you want to hear?” I asked.

“How she loved,” she simply replied.

My mother lives in Pennsylvania, while I reside in the foothills outside of Calgary, Alberta. We spend a few weeks together throughout each year via cross-country journeys, but mostly we visit daily through our phone calls. Often, I jot down questions or prompts I will use to steer our chats into more meaningful conversations.  While she reminisces, I scribble notes so I can capture her memories. 

I have been applauding myself for wisely using these phone calls to help record our family history.  Now I realize I have been merely collecting anecdotes.

While I still want to write down the details in her stories, what if I also focused on her and how she loved?

What if I told her now, while she still lives, how I would write of her after she passes?

Certainly, I have sent cards and letters to her over the years expressing my gratitude, my respect and my appreciation of her as my mother. But would she want to understand more fully how I perceive her love, how I understand how deeply she loved? I don’t want you to think that I have had an ideal upbringing.  All of us, especially daughters, have a multi-layered, multi-winding, emotional relationship with our mothers. Even so, can I begin to express to her while she is still here with me, that I know… how she loved.

Can I write those beautiful words for her now as a living tribute?

Because my mother has tried to live her life by the fruit of the Spirit, I will follow Galatians 5:22-23 as my outline for describing how she loved.  One of my pastors pointed out that perhaps this scripture denotes the fruit of the Spirit, as love. Everything that follows basically describes what love is or what it can be.

It will become my challenge to speak of my mother’s love within this fruit of the Spirit outline.  At the same time, I will inquire of myself, “How do I love? What do others see today: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control?”  Because I will be outlining my life with these attributes will others perceive how I love? Will I reflect what my mother has shown me?

I will tell her, and I will write of her. This is how you have loved, Mother. This is how you still love.  I hope my words of beauty offered for her will provide a confirmation that when I will memorialize her, I won’t only remember anecdotes but how she loved.

As I drove towards home the other day, I witnessed a spectacular sunset.  It seemed that God had traced each cloud’s edge using a brush dipped in gold glitter.  The sparkling outline shimmered with a beauty so radiant and so searing, I felt compelled to break forth with words of praise and awe. 

Hmm…I pray that I will be inspired as I use the fruit of the Spirit outline to create beautiful images that reflect back to my mother. Like that sunset, as it portrayed its light with brilliance and intensity. I pray that she will hear by those words, that I have traced her years of genuine compassion and constant devotion with a living tribute that glowingly states,

This, this is how she loved.

A Festival of Words - Gloria Guest

This week I have the opportunity to take in some of the Festival of Words, which is an annual author and writers gathering that happens every year in Moose Jaw. I love the word festival that was chosen. It conjures up the image of words dancing across the page in a party like atmosphere similar to music notes. Truly you have to be a writer to see words in such a way.

I have always seen the beauty in words and in the placing of words in the perfect sentence.  A well placed and thought out sentence is a beautiful thing.

Proverbs 25:11  says that “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” (KJV) Other versions refer to a word fitly spoken as ‘a design of gold’ (GNT); settings of silver; (NET) and as being ‘inscribed in silver.’ Although most versions refer to it as an oral word, the Good News Translation says, ‘An idea well-expressed is like a design of gold, set in silver.’ So I see it as applying to any form of expressing that idea, whether oral or written or another creative way. When it is done well and with expertise it becomes a valuable work of art; true beauty. Our written words truly do matter and have the potential to have much value in their ability to affect others.

When I listen to a reading at the festival I will listen for the cadence of the words, their meanings and how the author perfectly positions them in the sentence to make that sentence come alive. If that one sentence then joins other such sentences it is a true work of art. I will leave feeling the life of those words, stirred to create such beauty of my own.

Finally I cannot leave out the most beautiful, valuable words ever written, which is the Word of God. God used the spoken word to bring the world into existence and then He used the written word to tell His Story to us all. His words dance across the page; sometimes in  sad and heartbreaking steps and other times in joyous jubilation, but all joined in the telling of the beautiful, festive story of His love for us. There is nothing more beautiful than that.

Books are beautiful (as are cats ;) 

Gloria writes from Caron Sk. gloria.guest@wordpress.com

Beauty from Ashes by Lynn Dove

If you have been following my blog posts on Journey Thoughts in recent weeks, you will read that I am once again battling cancer.  Uterine cancer to be specific, and I had my first round of chemo on June 25^th, with five more cycles to go to be administered every 21 days.  There may be follow-up radiation as well, so I am in the throes of the battle once again.  I battled breast cancer in 2001 so I know all about what I am facing and the toll it will take on my body. 

First to go will be my hair.  1 Corinthians 11:15 talks about a women’s long hair being her crowning glory, her pride and joy, and her hair given to her for a covering.  Proverbs 16:31 calls gray hair a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness.  I remember losing my hair in 2001.  For many women going through chemotherapy, myself included, it was devastating to lose what was considered crucial to my self-esteem, my femininity and outward beauty.  I covered my bald head with a wig and head coverings but it wasn’t the same as my natural “crown of splendor”.  I have ordered new head coverings and my daughters picked out a sassy new wig for me but I must be a lot less vain than I was nineteen years ago, because I’m not nearly as stressed out about losing my hair this time around.  In fact, I’ve learned that all women who battle cancer should wear their crowns boldly and fearlessly, and learn to embrace our beautiful bald heads that are after all well-earned battle scars that will eventually heal in time. 

The verse I have embraced with regards to my hair loss is Luke 12:7, “Indeed, the very hairs on your head are all numbered.  Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”  God is with me regardless of whether or not I have a full head of hair.  He looks at the heart, and the true beauty that is found there.

Chemotherapy wreaks havoc on the body.  It’s hard to explain to someone who has never experienced chemo.  It’s a weird feeling having chemicals purposefully pumped into your body that can cause a host of unpleasant side effects.  Chemo is also known to have long term and sometimes detrimental consequences to your health for years after.  Yet, it is the crucial part of the arsenal for this battle, and with every treatment I just pray cancer cells are sought out and destroyed.  I will gladly go through this season, in order to once again declare myself to be cancer-free!

As I look at myself in the mirror over these next few months, I may find myself despairing over my appearance, but I need to constantly remind myself to look at myself through God’s eyes and not my own.  I am valuable, God breathed into me the breath of life (Genesis 2:7).  I am created in His image (Genesis 1:27).  I was knit together in my mother’s womb and I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139: 13-14).  I am a brand new creation for I have died to sin and all my unrighteousness has been cleansed by the blood of Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:11; Ephesians 2:4-5; 1 John 1:7,9).   I am saved by grace (Ephesians2:8).  I am being transformed into the image of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18).  I have a glorious future (Romans 8:18).  (From desiring God – What God Thinks About You by John Rinehart)

Amen!

Lynn Dove is the award-winning author, of the YA “Wounded Trilogy”- a contemporary Christian fiction series with coming-of-age themes.  A wife, mom, grandmother, and free-lance writer with articles published in several magazines and anthologies including Chicken Soup for the Soul books, her blog, “Journey Thoughts” is a Canadian Christian Writing Award winner.  Readers may connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and at lynndove.com