5 Minute Friday - Beauty

Breathtaking beauty has less do to with what comes in a bottle or is airbrushed on a page.  Rather it is found in the raw and untouched places. 

It is birthed in the heart and breathed into the soul.

It is a song of purpose…

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book – Psalm 139:15-16

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope – Jeremiah 31:3

It is the dance of desire…

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul – Jeremiah 32:41

For you are my treasured possession – Exodus 19:5

It is the grasp of grace…

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes – Revelation 21:3-4

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love – Romans 8:31-32

It can be found in the mirror…

For you are my offspring – Acts 17:28

For you were made in my image – Genesis 1:27

It is in the knowing who He is and who you are.  Oh my friends - do you hear it?  Do you feel it?  Open your eyes and see it! 

You are beautiful!

I am joining in with Five Minute Friday over at The Gypsy Mama. Where you write for 5 minutes - no more and no less.  Each week is a new topic and today it was Beauty.  Check out the link and see what others have written!



© A Sacred Longing 2009-2011

Through the tears...

Joy is the echo of God's life within us!

-anonymous

I was asked this weekend if the tears ever stop falling.  I couldn’t tell her yes because honestly, I pray they never do. 

When I went on my first mission trip, I was overwhelmed by the stark contrast of what I knew and what they had.  It was a black and white snapshot etched into my soul.  In the days that followed I would gaze upon the memory, with eyes welled up in wonder.  Time passed and the snapshot faded but the wonder never left me.

Since that time, I have had the privilege of traveling outside of my time and comfort zones and into the world and lives of others - Nicaragua, Ecuador, and Haiti.  Each trip has been a stepping stone on a pilgrimage of heart and soul. 

Each step has allowed me see beyond the obvious and the ordinary.  My eyes no longer focus on the harshness of contrasts – no longer black and white etchings engraved into eternity.  Rather each consecutive trip has become a Technicolor unfolding of a world I have only begged to know.

The tears still fall, my dear friend.  Yet, now they are a prism to the beauty and grace of a world created.  Rays of light separated into a rainbow of colors. 

Red and yellow, black and white we are precious in His sight…

Don’t hold back the tears my friend, look through them and be amazed.

© A Sacred Longing 2009-2011

Thanks to Shannon for this beautiful picture!

A morning walk

Fresh air, warm sun and the slow awakening of the world around me was a moment of grace at the start of my day.  In this very brief moment, I am able to gather in deeply the beauty of life and creation. 

Too soon the day will become busy and distracting.  It was never His intent.  Nor is it His making.  It is mine.  All mine. 

Nonetheless, the Creator's canvas is always before me.  Beauty and grace appear with each stroke of His hand and whisper of His breath.  These moments are never meant to be brief and fleeting.  Rather, with eyes to see and ears to hear I would encounter the unimaginable beauty that surrounds my every breath.  A beauty that should bring me to my knees.

His Spirit beckons me to pause. 

To see.

And hear.

Then be changed.

I am learning to turn from the chaos and seek the calm of the Creator.  To look deeper into the eyes of the one I am talking to.  To listen beyond the words but to the heart.  To wander beyond the obvious into the deep. 

It is a faith walk, my friends.  A simple path to the place where heaven's grace caresses the earth.  Prepare to remove your sandals because we are standing on Holy Ground.

© A Sacred Longing 2009-2010