When your mom reads your blog, you realize a few things…

The person with the biggest love and biggest hopes for you is here. She’s reading. She’s cheering. She’s feeling it at levels you don’t even feel it.

She’s a lot like God, my mom. And God is like my mom.

 

See it started when I wrote this piece on beauty.

And then my mom wrote this comment:

“There has always been a beauty about you that is stunning to me, both outside and inside. Your beauty physically is touching precious and great. Your eyes shine such a light. Your skin is like silk and your face brightens a room. And then from the inside your essence takes my breath away. The beauty formed escapes from you and makes everyone around you feel more beautiful, more full of life. I have felt blessed to have been given the gift of your life being, to have seen and known such a touch of pure heaven. And yes your daughter also stuns me at times when I look at her. I think how can someone actually be that beautiful. She has yet to fully know and shine her light, but she is blessed by a beauty that I do not think will ever diminish, only excel. Sometimes it is scary just how beautiful she is, and yet so real and so talented in her expression and the truth of her being. Some of that thanks to you and some thanks to the touch of God.”

THIS.

This is what my mom does for me. She’s a lot like God. And, God is a lot like my mom.

If God is real and cares about us as a parent, then it follows that God loves and hopes and cheers even louder than the best mom on earth.

God goes to the soccer games and spelling bees. God hopes we feed ourselves healthy food. God watches us grow with pride. God reads all our essays and looks over every inch of our finger paintings with patient interest. God sees precious beauty and brilliance in us.  We bring God great joy.

It’s a funny thing to reread “I almost never feel beautiful” knowing that my mom is reading it as well, and knowing her heart for me… how ridiculous a phrase that must be to my mom. It’s like telling her I can’t get my feet to stick to the ground — very clearly to her, gravity and beauty are holding me just right.

Now, I imagine God reading those words as I write them, and knowing God’s heart for me… how ridiculous a phrase that must be to God. It’s like telling him I am floating off the earth. “Gravity refuses to hold me, God!” — very clearly to God, gravity and beauty are holding me just right.

This does not only apply to me, Friend.  You are NOT disqualified from this amazing reality… this TRUE perspective.  You are beautiful… and none of this just beautiful-on-the-Inside crap. You are beautiful on the outside too.

Gravity and beauty are holding you just right.

 

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Now, I don’t know your mom. For some of you, just talking about moms is painful.   This is part of why I long so deeply for women to actually like other women. We can be love and hope and encouragement for each other, if we can stop competing and critiquing. We can be God’s tangible love and powerful motherly care.   And this we MUST be for each other, Friends.  I wrote about beauty for the Wild Gosling’s book before I knew what God was doing in my spirit… this Holy Discontent being stirred… this emergency message I must send out for myself and my friends who are going to drown.

It’s an SOS.

We are lost at sea. We gave our compass to a cute boy in 7th grade and we must find our way back to shore using the heavens to guide us.  Somehow we were tricked into believing a loving mom’s opinion didn’t matter as much as that guy in biology. We belittle her truth by mocking and disregarding, “My mom says I’m pretty…”  (read in sarcastic font).  Do not do this any longer. Do not do this to God… “God says I’m pretty…” God’s opinion does not matter less than some confused and distracted man’s opinion of you – or any woman’s either.

Anyone who disagrees with God on this is just wrong.

“You are altogether beautiful, my darling,
beautiful in every way.” Song of Songs 4:7

So, tonight, let these words be to you from God – however you can receive them… I believe there are no mistakes in life and that if your eyes are following these letters on this screen, somehow these words are also meant for you.

“There has always been a beauty about you that is stunning to me, both outside and inside. Your beauty physically is touching precious and great. Your eyes shine such a light. Your skin is like silk and your face brightens a room. And then from the inside your essence takes my breath away. The beauty formed escapes from you and makes everyone around you feel more beautiful, more full of life. I have felt blessed to have been given the gift of your life being, to have seen and known such a touch of pure heaven. … I think how can someone actually be that beautiful. You have yet to fully know and shine your full light, but you are blessed by a beauty that I do not think will ever diminish, only excel. Sometimes it is scary just how beautiful you are, and yet so real and so talented in you expression and the truth of your being.  I love you.”

Much love, Beautiful.