Something Beautiful

If you needed some encouragement today...

This frigid March I walked past a group of bright yellow daffodils; I was surprised they were blooming after just a few sunny days. The next day, I saw that children had been playing, and one had ripped a daffodil out of the ground and thrown it into a puddle. The contrast of the bright yellow verses the dirty mud struck me, and I took a picture.

Soon there was a very cold night, followed by hail, wind, and rain, which completely shriveled and kill the rest of them. I don’t particularly feel emotional about flowers, but I felt horrified as I stared at the formerly beautiful, delicate things, now pitifully withered and crumpled and broken.

The message here is clear to me: we are torn, broken, and muddy—we are completely far away from our original, beautiful design. Our own sin and the hurtful sin of others has completely distorted our formerly perfect bodies and souls. Terrible things have happened to us, and we are trapped in a puddle of despair, unable to see how this could ever be made into something beautiful. Shame and guilt wreak havoc as we allow them to control our very thoughts, unable to see the destruction they are causing. Once a beautiful flower-- oh, how we have fallen. Yet there is One who is ready to completely restore us and our situations into a thing of beauty. He is not far, just a simple call away, really. He is ready to pull us out of our situation, wash us clean, and heal our wounds and brokenness…He never passes over broken people. When the world wants to throw them away for lack of usefulness, beauty, and societal gain, He calls them His friends. When the world tells them they are worthless, He sees them as treasure.

“Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.” (Hosea 6:1, ESV)

“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? (Jer. 32:27)

"For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord, because they have called you an outcast: ‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’ (Jer. 30:17)

“And God says
I’m gonna turn it into something different
I’m gonna turn it into something good
I’m gonna take all the broken pieces
And make something beautiful like only I could
So put it all in the hands of the Father
Give it up, give it all over to
The only one who can turn it into
Something beautiful…”
(Something Beautiful, Steven Curtis Chapman)

Dancing

A few months ago I visited a friends’ farm for the purpose of seeing their new baby goats. I thought that I would see little goats huddled in a cage, but instead it was baby goat exercise time— All four of them had just eaten and as the wind ruffled their fur, they began to leap about in the funniest, most delightful way! Sometimes their legs would swing too high and suddenly they would flip around with their feet awkwardly landing behind them. I was clearly able to picture in my mind all the verses in the Bible which talk about mountains jumping like lambs or rams. Job 21:11 says, “They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance”, and I can see why he would compare dancing children with dancing baby goats; both are a blessing and both are lighthearted.

As a child I attended a classical Christian school which meant that “balls” were a common occurrence and your typical American dancing was unheard of (and forbidden). Instead, we private-schoolers learned the “Virginia Reel” and the “Pattycake Polka” from Kindergarten and up! As a child I remember the feeling of freedom of dancing as fast as I could, sweaty hands clutching my equally sweaty partner, both of us dressed to the nines in our school uniform, involving pleated, plaid skirts (for the girls), vests, and ironed button downs. I’ll never forget my racing heart as I was twirled around and around. The boys always tried to see who could spin the girls the fastest; the hope was that the girls would actually gain air and lift off of the ground or let out an ear-piercing shriek of fear.

As a teen I became extremely embarrassed of dancing, but remembering what it was like as child puts previously dull verses of the Bible to life! Psalm 30:11 says, “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.” Because my story of salvation feels like it was just yesterday, I can fully relate the act of dancing to my walk with God. True physical dancing requires a sense of fearlessness, being completely unhindered by pain or emotional worries; it is a picture of freedom. This is what Jesus has done for me and replaced sorrow and a heavy-heartedness with spiritual dancing. A mourning heart cannot dance. A heart that has been forgiven much, can turn mourning into happy feet. Sporre says, “It is without doubt that dance is part of human communication at its most fundamental level” (p. 179). Since becoming a Christian, I have spent more time dancing willingly than ever before, although it often ends up being to the tune of “Old MacDonald” with my toddler. Throughout difficult circumstances, my life is a dance. A dance while making dinner with a two-year-old on my hip, a dance while being a receptionist and scheduling a client to see hear all her pregnancy options and see her baby on an ultrasound screen, and last but not least, a dance at midnight when I feel discouraged by homework and exhausted, but the Lord gives me the strength to push forward.

Sporre, D. J. (2013). Reality Through the Arts: Eighth Edition. Hong Kong: Pearson Education, Inc.