Something Lovely Please

The art of perfectionism--a sneaky sense that we are making the best moment when we are actually unhappy with the moment we have.

Culture plagues the "unlovely or undesirable" because it doesn't fit into the mold we've shaped for beauty. We feel a strange discomfort or even rejection when meeting an adult who has a condition causing him/her to lose bodily control. Drool running down a teenager's face with a different condition causes us to look away. The asymmetry or discoloration of a toddler's face causes us to feel sorry for him. We don't know whether to stare at these individuals with watery eyes or shift our eyes downward.

Whether it's extreme or minor, our definition of lovely is subjective. Regardless though, we don't seem to accept imperfections as anything but less than desirable. We want to correct. We work to fix. We surgically alter that which we deem less than perfect.

Living in daily dirt, fragmented rhythms, broken materials, and unstable conditions has modified my barometer for beauty. Lovely now lives in these "undesirable conditions" because it's the only lovely I see. People who have never known the world of beauty actually possess this quality. They have no comprehension of crisp lines or clean spaces, yet they exude an aroma of beauty.

I always assumed blemishes must be removed, or at the very least, covered up. Marketing echos my inclination. Everything-- our homes, bodies, and lives-- should be visually pleasing, regularly exercised, and remodeled. Fresh face-lifted, feng shuied, and manicured--no wrinkles, no creases, no scars, no misshapes.

This desire for unblemished beauty is not wrong necessarily. We were designed for Eden afterall-- perfection with God--but we cannot make beautiful things our primary pursuit. Otherwise our vision is farsighted.

"Faith is not perplexed. The believing man refrains from judging unfinished work. Plucks no apple until it is ripe. Worry is for short sided passion. Prudence, rest, and quiet are the strong confidence." (Charles Spurgeon, Honest Faith)

You will never be satisfied with your condition, whether you are a paraplegic, a hypochondriac, or just starting to see grey hairs, because you are working to correct a sculpture that God has the vision to finish. Your greatest contentment with your current condition comes when you respect the potter. Stop asking why He made the clay the way He did. Notice the lovely in all His phased work, then you will stop looking to perfect short-sided sculptures that were made for the long-term gallery.

"Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” (John 7:24) "This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be at peace. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it." (Isa. 30:15)

I have been looking for lovely in all the wrong places because, "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;  but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate." (Proverbs 31:30-31)

My work that is most beautiful is done when I am in direct contact with the Presence of God. When I am His aroma, I will feel lovely no matter how blemished I am that week. May I see Him everywhere, especially in this dirty, male, RV life. It is truly a beauty you have to believe in order to see.

~Carefully & Carelessly Lovely