Beauty and the Sun

Early Monday morning I drove down the interstate in darkness for what seemed an eternity to my heavy eyes. I’m not a morning person, I’m not a hair and make-up and heels person, and I most certainly am not a drive in the dark and cold in traffic person. On my way out the door I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and cringed. I was a mess - tired eyes, tangly hair, and uncooperative skin included. I was grumpy to say the least.

As I drove, I thought about how gross I felt and how annoying it was that I had to drive to Indy every day for training, etc etc. While I complained (to myself) about my skin and other equally important issues, the sun began to rise across the horizon in front of me. I put my thoughts on pause as I watched the sun break through the darkness and remembered a verse that had been nearly forgotten. It was almost as if I could hear someone whispering to me Psalm 45:11 “the King is enthralled by your beauty.”

I laughed to myself and shook my head in disbelief that the God who paints the sky each morning is enthralled by my beauty, even at my worst, on mornings when I feel ugly and have a nasty attitude. Just as I am taken back by the beauty of the sun rising, so God is captivated by the beauty of His people. Just typing it sounds absurd, but then again everything about God's love for us is absurd.

"Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”1 Samuel 16:7