Christian Living: Unhappy With What You See?

Have you ever had an morning where nothing you did to make yourself look pretty turned out right? Of course, we are fearfully and wonderfully made but let's be honest. There are days you wake up, look in the mirror and think, "Man! I look crazy!" Unfortunately, I ran out of gel the morning before and was running around searching for the right outfit to wear. Let's just say I wasn't too proud of my appearance upon heading out. While working with the babies later on, I passed by a mirror and quickly looked away because I was not happy with the truth it told. It was obvious that I needed gel, a brush, makeup, a wing and the prayer to match.

About two hours before it was time for me to leave, the babies were starting to get cranky. Neither of them had a good nap for the day and it was starting to show. I pushed the double stroller around the church for a while to get them to calm down. It only seemed to make things worse. I found an empty room and tried to entertain them with musical toys, snacks and water. I took them to the bathroom to see if they needed changing. Only one did. While I changed one, the other was crying inconsolably in the stroller. I wanted to pick him up and rock him but I still had to change the other. Imagine two 1 yr old babies crying at the top of their lungs in a church bathroom with an echo. I was surprisingly calm and determined to get both of them to match my calm. While rocking one baby to sleep, I fed the other snacks and a bottle. Please keep in mind that we are all still in this grand church bathroom. The changing table is still down with the mess in tow. There are snacks strewn all over the bathroom floor and the double stroller is parked in the center of it all. I thankfully was able to get some peace to the storm as one baby finally fell asleep and the other was content with his bottle. I proceeded to disinfect, wipe and sweep (with my hands) the bathroom disaster.  When I finished the damage control, I looked up to fix what I could of myself. What I couldn't believe was that I looked better in that moment than I did all week. Something about my skin seemed to glow. My hair didn't look as disheveled and lack of makeup seemed irrelevant. I actually felt and looked more pretty than I did all day. 

When things went from bad to worse and then calmed down, I was able to see a physical difference in my appearance. I really can't explain it. I wasn't sweating. I wasn't "dewy" per se. I just feel like God was trying to teach me a lesson though. 

You may start out not liking what you see. It doesn't have to be physically either. It could be in any of your life. No matter how you try to fix it, that "thing" is still a mess. Sometimes, it takes the mental decision to keep trucking in spite of what you don't like. Things may go from bad to worse but it's usually in those times of pressure that a unique beauty can be revealed. Think of a diamond. It has to go through fire and pressure to be molded and reflect light the way it does so beautifully. 

Don't stay stuck on how things look right now. Make the decision to keep pursuing God and His will for your life.  Things may go from bad to worse but with God on your side, He ALWAYS finds a way to make things beautiful in His time!

I hope this has encouraged and inspired you. 

Have faith and determination! God will bring you through!
God bless you! 

-dani