Ponderments on Beauty

So I've been thinking about beauty this week as I sit here meandering through my mind, and it has brought pause for reflection. Of course, we all know that everyone has something beautiful about them and the other day I was even telling a friend of mine that even though we don't see it, even the most vile and evil people we can think of had something beautiful about them; so what do you think? I'm not asking you to aim to find Hitler's beauty, or that of the person you like the least I'm just asking you to ponder for a moment before you go on. What are your thoughts on this statement?

Then I got to thinking the longer you know and love someone, the lovelier they become to you because you are seeing them through the eyes of choice; of love. I know this is true for me, no matter where the relationship is (or isn't) today. I'm not talking bangin' hot, though there is that, too. It's another matter altogether. There's outward beauty, which I could point out in a million people, and then there's inward beauty. Can I find the same number of people really and truly? This is seeing with the eyes of your heart; looking into their soul and spirit and finding someone worth more than you can imagine. To God, we all are. Unfortunately, not everyone shows it.

True inward beauty comes from the fruit of the Spirit working in someone's life. If there is no relationship with God, can they still be inwardly beautiful? I think to a certain degree but it is this relationship with Jesus Christ that is going to make the biggest difference. In anyone. You can be as beautiful as Mo'Nique, Tyra, Cindy, Emme, or Kimora; as handsome as Larenz, Brad, Taye, or Denzel, but without the heart piece and the God piece honey, it's someone with a pretty face, a nice laugh, a pleasant speech pattern and body language, even good works but tell me, are impatience, rudeness, unkindness, and jealousy beautiful? Not according to God's Word; and not in my book.

I say this not to tell people what to think or believe; that is between you and God, and is not for me to judge at all. Followers of Christ have been called to call out those who say they are in Christ but who aren't acting like Him; not to judge those who are in the world. That said, inner beauty that comes from the fruit of the Spirit is best grown with His guidance, which often comes through other people. But it's important to know in your heart and spirit intuitively and through prayer that they are the right people for your life. A deep prayer life is one of the best recipes for a beautiful heart, and a beautiful person. And to gain this, one must know the God Who created him or her in His image, wonderfully and awesomely. And with that, be confident that you are a rare find to the person He has for you to share your life with, if marriage is the gift He gives you. If celibacy is your gift, that makes you no less rare and beautiful to God and to the people He places in your life to speak into it. So if the people in your life are speaking evil, negative, or otherwise unhealthy things around or about you be aware it is one of two things (could be more, but two I know of): a test from God to see how you will handle it, or a message that you need different people in your life.

They say we become more and more like the people we spend time with; the three to five people closest to you is - in a sense - what you will become . Who are you surrounding yourself with? Are they beautiful people from the heavenly perspective? Just a thought to ponder

I will give you an example from my own life and will use five examples, briefly...

When I was a child, the five people I was closest to were names Shamanna, Teresa, Tessa, Aamon, and Lisa, other than my family. Shamanna and Teresa were my best female friends, and Aamon my best male friend. This was oh, until about fifth grade or so. Well, to this day I have something of each of these five as part of who I am: from Shamanna, I learned about trust; she is who I learned trust with because I learned not to trust her over the years. I learned not to just blurt out who I am, what I feel or think, etc. I also learned about outer beauty because of some things that happened in her life, as well as mine. From Teresa, as well as Tessa, since they're sisters, I learned the joy of trampolines, of street hockey, and of poi (which I haven't had in years!). Aamon and Lisa, brother and sister, taught me the importance of play. They are not the only ones over time to do so, but were definitely the first.

I know this is a seemingly trivial example set, but given I didn't want to use today's examples out of respect for privacy, I thought it more prudent this way.

Anyway, the point is this: true beauty comes from God, into the heart and soul, and develops over time. So my ponderment for you today is this: who do you know that is truly beautiful? Is it one of the close people? Should it be? And as an aside, out of curiosity what is YOUR definition of beauty? Holla at me and have a blessed, wonderful day!