Do you think that, often times, beauty is preceded by a violent work? And "violent" doesn't have to mean a bad thing. It could mean "HARD WORK", "VERY HARD WORK"!
This Sunday at church...i heard that quote and it's still ringing in my ear and stirring up my heart. Pondering the truth of that...here are some examples that came to mind:
1. A baby being born....that simple beauty took violent work to get on this earth. Perhaps the mother had, morning sickness, she ached ..her mind and body. Growing pains and of course the LABOR of birthing the baby occurred. That beautiful baby came from some violent work on earth and probably in the heavens. what is unseen.
2. Art: i have seen my friends LABOR ( and myself at times), sacrifice, dream, hurt, be discouraged ( and encouraged)...fight...need help from others..etc. to create their music. When an artist hands me their new music/CD. i say "WELL DONE!. i know it took HARD WORK TO GET TO THIS POINT". The beauty we pop into our car stereo...was faught for behind doors we didn't have to open.
3. A good friend: there is beauty in relationships for sure. This one i have felt the simple gift of without seeming to have to FIGHT for it...a simple gift from GOD. However, oftentimes there is a violent work involved in keeping friends or a marriage in tact properly. With God's grace we work to keep that beautiful undercurrent flowing. Sometimes the closest i have felt to people occurred after pain or hardship...WORKING IT OUT TOGETHER.
Would you guys agree? For sure there are instances where beauty is just there in front of us and it seems no work was behind it. In fact we are DRAWN TO BEAUTY as if it's a simple occurrence that has no strings attached...
We want that beauty for ourselves with no strings attached. Beauty sits there screaming on its own as if it's strength lies within itself. But work is behind it.
This is where our pastor brought the message that challenged me.
He said not to run from the violent or hard process of GOD working beauty in us. That GOD works all for His good and thus our moments of suffering aren't always something to run from but to rejoice with. FOR BEAUTY IS BEING CREATED. We hurt and so we try to medicate it. Turning to entertainment, or drugs, or distractions..etc, the pain is seen as from a cruel GOD...hmmm but maybe it's not a cruel thing to suffer into beauty....for out of suffering comes perseverance..perseverance hope..etc...i dont know. I'm just thinking aloud today....
i'm about to jump rope outside while my baby sleeps. It's the violent act of exercise that needs to occur to get these beautiful biceps on my arms..haha.....just kidding.
It is, however, the work i want to do to feel the beauty of peace of mind.
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6 comments:
Beautiful post my friend. And I totally agree, just never stopped to think about it. Love your words. thanks :)
Wow Mandy...this is strong insight...a lot of worthy thoughts. Thank you for writing today.
Beautiful.
I am reading the writings of Queen Victoria and she often talks of violent love ( without it meaning violence as we would think of it today ) and, after reading your post, I have a better understanding of what she means.
Child birth is such a great example but the exercise one, even better. Maybe because a new baby is a tangible, almost immediate reward at the end of labor but the results from exercise are slower and harder to measure. And I think you are so right about our culture medicating and busying itself against these times of hardship because they don't want to feel the pain or go through the pain. After my husband died, I wanted to go through the process and see where God would take me. He has taken me to a good place....a very good place. And although my faith has grown, it doesn't take much to frighten me again and then I realize how little I do trust Him even though He has always been trustworthy. He gives us such great glimpses of the beauty we will behold in heaven....but it can never last long in this world because this world is passing away. Thanks for inspiring me this morning. Thank you for putting your thoughts into words. Thank you for reminding me that often in this world, beauty is created through violence but if we keep our eyes on Christ during those times, He will grow us and build up our faith in Him. Some day all will be made beautiful---we will be beautiful. But in this world, it is mostly a work, a struggle until we learn to rest in Him.
Joanne, your words are beautiful here...i had tears in my eyes. i know you have been through some big struggles that have challenged and increased your faith..and i see them as BEAUTY on you. You really are beautiful....
Mandy--thank you! I must tell you that your blog always touches me deeply and I ponder it for days afterwards. It is wonderful to read meaningful, thoughtful words. It makes life richer, more sacred. Thank you, sweet Mandy.
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