I don’t normally get involved with Facebook chain letters – you know, the kind where you send the message to ten people then send it back to the person who sent to you with the promise that something wonderful will happen if you participate and if you don’t . . .
This one was different. It read:
“The game is as follows: Once selected, you have to choose 10 women on Facebook you believe deserve the award, copy and paste this on their wall. You must be honest. This is a way to show your respect and admiration for women who forget their worth! If you receive it over three times, consider yourself really a beautiful woman and warrior. If you break the game nothing will happen, but it’s nice to know that someone appreciates and admires you. You’re a beautiful person inside and out! I chose you!”
I was hooked. Yes, I definitely had women in my life with whom I wanted to share that message. Courageous women. Talented women. Women who have been through the wringer of life and come out more put together than ever. Women that shine with the vibrancy of life, a generous spirit and a kind and compassionate heart.
Do these women have faults? Yes, they do. So do I! Do some of them drive me crazy sometimes? Admittedly. I can attest that I drive them crazy too. Do some of them need to experience the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Yes and my heart aches for those to fully embrace the Lord I love and to fall at His feet in full surrender – just like I needed to do years ago. And I still need God’s love, patience and forgiveness on a daily basis.
But as my list grew longer than ten women, I didn’t think about these things. I thought of their happy faces, their beautiful spirits, their gifts and talents and yes, even their physical beauty. Each bore the imprint of the signature of their Creator God. Each showed God’s amazing creativity in making each person so unique. Such variety, such intricate attention to detail, such perfection. And unlike a static piece of artwork or a completed book, they keep growing and changing and pivoting, emitting new patterns of beauty, like the many facets of a sparkling diamond.
It’s true of the guys too. God made no junk. Even though we are marred and stained by sin, God still made each of us as beautiful people, people created to reflect and shine His glory.
Here’s the amazing thing. As I was working on this post, I looked for images to include with it. I typed in the search words, “beautiful women.” Let’s just say this. The search engine I used has it all wrong. Their image of beauty truly is only skin deep. There is so, so much more to this thing beauty. The world is missing out on the admiration of a lot of very special people if their only standard for beauty is how much smooth skin you can show off.
You are beautiful just by the very fact that God created you. And if He is in the process of transforming you and renewing you by His grace, why, you’re downright fantastic.
I guess that means that I should have sent that Facebook message to all 571 friends on my Facebook page. Better make that 572. Because I need to include myself. Hopefully, I’m growing in beauty every day (2 Corinthians 4:16).
Scrub me clean, Lord. Polish me, purify me as I can shine all the brighter. Let me show You off. Let my life brag on how exceptional a Creator-God you are. Let people see the beauty You have put inside me and praise You for it. May they walk away, saying, “Wow, is that Artist ever good!”
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