Beauty

The professor whose youth ministry course I audited this past semester is also an Episcopal priest. He is skilled in pastoral counseling and brought much depth into the classroom. More than once he directed our attention to the idea that every adult has a childlike version of himself or herself that needs to be given consideration and care. It reminded me of Dr. Talbert's spiritual formation exercises at Truett, where she had us imagine ourselves as a child getting into an elevator and at some point Jesus appeared. My experience proved it to be an interesting lesson, but perhaps too introspective for me at times.

Today, this past week actually, I have been listening and paying much attention to the little girl Sarah. She's been giddy over a boy and I had to tell her not to get her hopes up (why are adults more pessimistic and cautious?). She's been frightened by all the changes in life and I've had to convince her things will be all right (adults have to say these things to children, even when they don't believe them themselves). She's been in pain and cried over some hurtful things said and I've been at a loss of what to do for her (adults don't always have the answers). The little girl Sarah just wants to be known, to be loved, and to feel secure. She wants to be assured that this world has a place for her. Her true, deepest desire is to be treated like a princess, but I believe she's finally giving that dream up.

Excerpts from John and Stasi Eldredge's book, "Captivating" -

"Remember twirling skirts? Most little girls go through a season when they will not wear anything if it does not twirl (and if it sparkles, so much the better). Hours and hours of endless play result from giving little girls a box filled with hats, scarves, necklaces, and clothes. Dime store beads are priceless jewels; hand-me-down pumps are glass slippers. Grandma's nightie, a ballroom gown. Once dressed, they dance around the house or preen in front of a mirror. Their young hearts intuitively want to know they are lovely. Some will ask with words, 'Am I lovely?' Others will simply ask with their eyes. Verbal or not, whether wearing a shimmery dress or covered in mud, all little girls want to know. As a young songwriter recently wrote,

I want to be beautiful
And make you stand in awe
Look inside my heart
And be amazed
I want to hear you say
Who I am is quite enough
I just want to be worthy of love
And beautiful
-Bethany Dillon, 'Beautiful'"

"Nearly all a woman does in her adult life is fueled by her longing to be delighted in, her longing to be beautiful, to be irreplaceable, to have her Question answered, 'Yes!'"

"Living in true beauty can require much waiting, much time, much tenacity of spirit. We must constantly direct our gazes toward the face of God, even in the presence of longing and sorrow. It is in the waiting that our hearts are enlarged. The waiting does not diminish us. As a pregnant woman is enlarged in her waiting, so are our hearts. God does not always rescue us out of a painful season. You know that he does not always give us what we so desperately want when we want it. He is after something much more valuable than our happiness. Much more substantive than our health. He is restoring and growing in us an eternal weight of glory. And sometimes...it hurts."