i’m not sure why my
my mind has wandered back
to the many hours I spent in my bathroom as a teenager getting ready for a date.
some might say obsessively so…
i would wash my hair with several kinds of shampoos
so it would smell extra good
and layer on lotion and perfume and hairspray
the preparation of each date marked that it was going to be something worth rememboring.
it was a long time ago, but I remember, even now, the preparation…
just yesterday, it dawned on me
that this blip on the map
the one we call “life”
is about the preparation…
preparing ourselves to meet the One.
differently, but still…
i must keep in mind that it takes a lot of time to get ready to see the King
i want HIm to see a large piece of himself when he looks at me
but in order to get to that end,
i must spend. time. with. HIM.
that’s how I prepare.
i must adorn myself with the things that He deems to be beautiful
i must take the preparation seriously.
layer myself with mercy and grace and loving-kindness.
buffer my mind and body so that it yields to my will. to discipline
i must tackle hard challenges so i can show the strength that can only be found through persevering.
i must cloak myself with compassion.
when I reach the King,
i long for Him to say…
she’s a peacemaker…that’s beautiful
she has a gentle spirit…that’s beautiful
she extends forgiveness and grace…that’s beautiful
she has a soft, yielded heart….that’s beautiful
she is a woman who has stayed the course.
she always came back to me, even if she got off track…that’s beautiful.
1 Peter 3:3-4 ESV
Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
1 Samuel 16:7 ESV
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
//Lord, help me to remember today that I am preparing to meet You. Regardless of what I am battling today, show me how I can show your beauty in this season of my life. Help me to remember that I am in process, in the middle of preparation. Remind me that I will never reach perfection this side of Heaven. I want you to be pleased by the way I am preparing. Amen//
