The path to beauty is difficult. It is time-consuming and energy-training. It requires patience and intensity and intentionality. It requires you to look past the the flood of color and images that your eyes take in and sift through it all for meaning and beauty, value and worth. But it is so worth it.
Think about it. You’re at the beach. You have two choices. You can choose to walk farther from the shore, in the sand. It’s soft. It gives way comfortably with each step, shifting and molding to your footprint, cushioning the soles of your feet. This seems easier. But, soon, your calves begin to burn, and you miss so much closer to the shoreline. What seemed easier really isn’t.
Now, your other choice is to walk by the shoreline. But you run the risk of getting wet. The shells under your feet crunch and seem to bite at your feet. So you slow. You think that this route is slower and more cumbersome and difficult to bear. But as you slow, you begin to admire the beauty of the shells beneath your feet. You realize that these shells actually have laid a firm foundation, making your strides sure and easy.
Not only do these shells form the foundation of your path, they also add immense richness and diversity to it. Look at all of the colors, all of the pieces. Out of all of the beaches for these pieces to wash up on, they’ve landed here beneath your toes. Despite the current and the brutality of the waves, here they are—waiting to be picked up, washed off, and taken home and admired.
You are that shell, dear one. You have immense beauty. You have felt the crushing weight of the waves of life. Yet here you stand. You are strong. You are unique—one of a kind, there is no other person like you, with your insight, perspectives, wit, or personality. Any broken parts of you cannot hide the colors and details of your story. You matter. You’re valued. So much so that God picked you up, washed you off, gave you a home in His family, and admires you more deeply than you can fathom.
An apple a day... 