It’s what we call the ugly-beautiful… d’un beau affreux. What the impressionist painter, Paul Gauguin, encapsulated as, “Le laid peut-etre beau…” Translation: The ugly can be beautiful…..
I scratched it down in the archives,
In Christian circles, we elevate what we deem beautiful, endeavor to create spheres of pristine beauty, and perhaps rightly so, for “whatever is good, pure, lovely, think on these things.” But I wonder if maybe in the upside-down kingdom of God, what we regard as unlovely is, in Jesus, lovely….
Because, somewhere, underneath the grime of this broken world, everything has the radiant fingerprints of God on it. With Jesus eyes, we have the astonishing opportunity to daily love the unlovely into loveliness.
And, funny thing, I’m discovering that when I lean deep into my secrets, when I draw the lens up close to the ugly in my life, examining the weave, the texture, the shadows, it too is beautiful.
When I deeply see…
children live here!
dead rose left too long in vase…
lingering memories of a brother’s gift…
great-grandma’s wicker laundry basket overflowing in the mudroom…
we had a full, rich weekend!
vehicle souvenirs: a collection of shoes, Sunday School paper, lego pieces…
we’ll gather them up too…
we’re thinking now…
worn days of a good summer
stack of tattered books…
:::
stories that have become real…
Aren’t these ugly things, in their own way, part of the gift list too?
God is always good, and we’re always loved… even when what He gives may appear ugly.
Up close, touching the unexpected comeliness in these domestic messes, I can’t help but wonder… does all the uglinesses in my life look this beautiful?
It would, if I got closer.
Is that why God stays so close to us?
Lord, draw me nearer to the scratched situations in my life, the dented relationships— if I got close enough to deeply see the intricacies, maybe I too could see the beauty?
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Related: The Ugly Beautiful
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If you’ve joined the Gratitude Community, consider looking closely at the Ugly Beautiful in your life.
Why begin your own One Thousand Gift List –(drop me a line if you do, and I’ll add either your name or a web link to the Gratitude Community.)
