Esse Quam Videri
I love to read. If you know me, you already know this. You don't know it because I've told you; it is an observable thing. I am a bibliophile.
If I'm reading a really good book, I will often come across a sentence or paragraph that I really love. I even have a running list going of the best ones.
Right now I'm reading The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown. I haven't finished it yet, but it has passed the "fifty page test," the point at which I give up on a book if I don't really like it. It is the sort of novel that all my girly, literary friends are going to like. Ask me more about it when I'm finished. Anyway, I read a quote in it last night that got my attention. Here it is --
We live in a time when the world is smaller and bigger than ever. There is lots of information out there. There are tons of people with tons of messages, and now we can hear them all. It isn't just the honest voices of those people that really know and love us that we hear. Now it seems like everyone has an opinion about us. As a result, we've changed. Instead of asking ourselves what we are, we have started to ask ourselves how we appear. Who could blame us? We do it too.
Let me illustrate. Lately I joined Pintrest, and it's fun. I can see pictures of my friend's breakfast casseroles and get ideas for new hairstyles. But there is one thing about Pintrest I've noticed that I don't like. People pin pictures of models, just because. They usually write a caption like this -- "So beautiful!" or "Breathtaking." On the surface it is really innocent. These people are just honestly responding to physical human beauty, which in itself isn't a problem. On the other hand, I think this sends out a message to people like this, "You can only be beautiful if you look like this." I know, I know. You're thinking, "Okay! Same song ten thousandth verse."
Right.
I think I'm taking it personally right now because I work with teen aged girls (enough said), and it seems like so many of my dear friends are struggling with issues about self-worth. So when I saw the models' pictures there, it made me want to start a Pintrest board called, "Beautiful People" and just pin up all the pictures of these amazing folks in my life. They aren't important to me because of the way they appear. They are important to me because of their hearts, which is where true beauty resides. Being always transcends appearance. Do an experiment. Think of the people you enjoy the most. Next, think of the most physically beautiful people you've ever seen. Now, how much do the lists overlap?
What can we do about all this? Begin a Pintrest reactionary group? No. That just seems petty to me. I've made a plan for myself, which is why I'm even writing about this in the first place.
I've got a milestone birthday coming up, and I've been thinking about it quite a lot. I started wondering, "If I died right now, what would I regret? What would I leave undone?" My own answer sort of surprised me. It wasn't anything like travel to Fiji, write the next great American novel, or learn to play the violin, although I'd love to do those things. The one true answer was that I wanted all the people in my life to know how important they are to me and that I really see them, not just the way they may appear to the world. Consequently, I have been working on making sure they know it.
If you don't hear from me, and you want to know what I'm thinking about your heart, especially if you need some encouragement, email or talk to me.
For today, remember this. "Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and stature. I've already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7.
If I'm reading a really good book, I will often come across a sentence or paragraph that I really love. I even have a running list going of the best ones.
Right now I'm reading The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown. I haven't finished it yet, but it has passed the "fifty page test," the point at which I give up on a book if I don't really like it. It is the sort of novel that all my girly, literary friends are going to like. Ask me more about it when I'm finished. Anyway, I read a quote in it last night that got my attention. Here it is --
Oh, Our Rose. Her hair up like a Gibson girl, her skin stained pretty pink from the blushing, face bare of makeup, one of those flowing outfits that hid her curves, beauty and honor in her are so mingled . . . but would he see it? Would he see, beneath her self-consciousness, the way she could clean that stain off his tie with only club soda and the edge of her shirt, catch spiders we would be too afraid to touch, marshal our forces to pack the car for a trip so everything fit and nothing was forgotten, pick the perfect fresh flowers to make the breakfast table seem like a celebration, hold us after a nightmare, put herself aside to make sure we were happy? Would he see why we loved her so? We held our breath.Why did it make me pause? Because I've thought that thousands of times about the people I love. When they go out into the world for whatever reason, will other people see them as they really are? Will that blind date, new boss, or far away community understand what makes this person lovable and important?
We live in a time when the world is smaller and bigger than ever. There is lots of information out there. There are tons of people with tons of messages, and now we can hear them all. It isn't just the honest voices of those people that really know and love us that we hear. Now it seems like everyone has an opinion about us. As a result, we've changed. Instead of asking ourselves what we are, we have started to ask ourselves how we appear. Who could blame us? We do it too.
Let me illustrate. Lately I joined Pintrest, and it's fun. I can see pictures of my friend's breakfast casseroles and get ideas for new hairstyles. But there is one thing about Pintrest I've noticed that I don't like. People pin pictures of models, just because. They usually write a caption like this -- "So beautiful!" or "Breathtaking." On the surface it is really innocent. These people are just honestly responding to physical human beauty, which in itself isn't a problem. On the other hand, I think this sends out a message to people like this, "You can only be beautiful if you look like this." I know, I know. You're thinking, "Okay! Same song ten thousandth verse."
Right.
I think I'm taking it personally right now because I work with teen aged girls (enough said), and it seems like so many of my dear friends are struggling with issues about self-worth. So when I saw the models' pictures there, it made me want to start a Pintrest board called, "Beautiful People" and just pin up all the pictures of these amazing folks in my life. They aren't important to me because of the way they appear. They are important to me because of their hearts, which is where true beauty resides. Being always transcends appearance. Do an experiment. Think of the people you enjoy the most. Next, think of the most physically beautiful people you've ever seen. Now, how much do the lists overlap?
What can we do about all this? Begin a Pintrest reactionary group? No. That just seems petty to me. I've made a plan for myself, which is why I'm even writing about this in the first place.
I've got a milestone birthday coming up, and I've been thinking about it quite a lot. I started wondering, "If I died right now, what would I regret? What would I leave undone?" My own answer sort of surprised me. It wasn't anything like travel to Fiji, write the next great American novel, or learn to play the violin, although I'd love to do those things. The one true answer was that I wanted all the people in my life to know how important they are to me and that I really see them, not just the way they may appear to the world. Consequently, I have been working on making sure they know it.
If you don't hear from me, and you want to know what I'm thinking about your heart, especially if you need some encouragement, email or talk to me.
For today, remember this. "Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and stature. I've already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7.
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