When I say "more beauty", I am not talking about getting a make-over, a face lift, a new wardrobe, or a new 'do. That is beauty as defined by People Magazine. I am talking about Beauty as defined by God. The difference is that God's definition is eternal, and not found in the shape, the color, or the emotion of the thing (or person). Instead, it is found in the way the thing (or person) reflects God, because it is not the object itself but its beautiful Maker that makes it beautiful. A single flower, the vast ocean, a new born baby, an elderly man, are all Beautiful because we see in them the face and fingerprints of their Creator. A simple song, a conversation over dinner, a walk with a child, are all Beautiful because they remind us of that "other place", the place where Love lives.
In The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis writes:
The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things-- the beauty, the memory of our own past-- are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.
In The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis writes:
The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things-- the beauty, the memory of our own past-- are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.
Lately, I had been feeling weary. I blamed lack of sleep, the weight of responsibilities, little time with friends, but what I was really lacking was Beauty. I had forgotten to see God around me, to take time to bask in His glory, and to enjoy Him. I was living without being alive.
But as I took Communion yesterday, I was reminded that God provides us with all we need: the bread, which is what sustains us physically, and the wine, which is what makes life enjoyable. We need both to truly live. To quote C.S. Lewis again, "We do not want merely to see beauty... we want something else which can hardly be put into words-- to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it."
But as I took Communion yesterday, I was reminded that God provides us with all we need: the bread, which is what sustains us physically, and the wine, which is what makes life enjoyable. We need both to truly live. To quote C.S. Lewis again, "We do not want merely to see beauty... we want something else which can hardly be put into words-- to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it."
I need more Beauty in my life. But how to achieve this? I asked myself. Is there something I need to do more of, or something I need to cut out of my life? It's a fine line, because it is not really about what I do, but what I choose to focus on as I'm doing it. A doctor can heal without "seeing" his patients, and painter can paint without loving the subject. The only way to gain more Beauty in my life is to slow down and intentionally look, which means when I'm watering the vegetable plants, I stop to ponder on God's creativity and wonder how life comes from a tiny seed. When I'm teaching my children, I look into their faces and cherish them as their Heavenly Father cherishes them. When I sit down to dinner, I'm not thinking about the dishes, or checking off another meal from my to-do list, but I am enjoying the food and the people around the table. Otherwise, my work has become one of those "dumb idols", and I have lost my connection with the Maker of Beauty.
To quote C.S. Lewis yet again, I will close with this passage from Till We Have Faces, "The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing-- to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from-- my country, the place where I ought to have been born."
What a wonderful way to remind myself to keep my eyes on God as I continue on this journey of serving Him through homeschooling, homemaking, loving my husband, and loving my community.
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