Captivating - Depths of beauty

Originally posted January 8, 2008

We as women long for beauty to unveil. It is part of our design. It's not just a physical beauty either. It's also a soulish beauty that reveals the beauty of God. I've started to reread the book Captivating by John and Stasi Eldridge. The quotes that I have in this blog come from the book. "Beauty is, without a question, the mostessential and the most misunderstood of all of God's qualities - of all feminine qualities too."

I have been struggling with the issue of beauty. I realize that is what it all boils down to from the struggles I was going through during my last blog. By discovering the beauty at my own core, I am essentially discovering more about God as I was created in His image to represent beauty for the world to see.What is beauty? What does it do?

- Beauty speaks: It is the beauty of the world that tells, no screams out to us that God does exist. Beauty says "All shall be well".

- Beauty invites: This goes beyond just a physical beauty of a woman, but that also of something like nature, music, art, etc. Imagine the sound of a song that just captivates your attention. It leaves you breathless and pondering and wanting more. To drink it up in all of it magnificence.

- Beauty nourishes: It is the kind of food our soul craves. Also think of a mother nursing an infant. There is beauty in the creation of women and how we nourish others.

- Beauty comforts: This is why we send flowers during times of grief or sickness. Sometimes the gift of beauty speaks louder and comforts more than words can at that moment.

- Beauty inspires: Beauty can call us to something higher. To strive to be a better person. Think of the beauty of Mother Teresa. It inspired others to greatness.

- Beauty is transdesant: "Its our most immediate experience of eternity." "Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. " (Eccl. 3:11) It leaves us longing for more, for something we haven't seen, yet know is there.

I find it interesting how this all got started. I was half asleep when Eccl 3 came to mind. The Holy Spirit likes to throw scripture up at me to look at because I ask where to look a lot. So I got up, still half asleep and started to read Eccl 3. When I came on verse 11 I had to pause because I knew this was the main focus that God was try to show me with. Aside from the everything has a time and such, but this verse hit me hard. Then I started to read a portion of the book again, and it was talking about beauty. God started to show me that through discovering myself, I was discovering more about the character of God. By repressing, my natural desires (the God given ones, not the sinful ones), I was repressing the glory of God. I am discovering that I am the image of God in an awesome way. We are both passionate, loving, and fiercely devoted. God is just a magnified version of everything great in me. I love this passage from the book.

One of the deepest ways a woman bears the image of God is in her mystery. By "mystery", we don't mean, "forever beyond your knowing", but, "something to be explored". "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter," says the books of Proverbs, "to search it out is the glory of Kings." (25:2) God yearns to be known. But he wants to be sought after by those who would know Him. "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jer. 29:13) There is dignity here; God doe not throw Himself at any passerby.

This the way i must continue to strive to live. By placing my confidence in God that there is a beauty He wants to unveil through me, it will naturally start to pour out. There is something captivating bout a women who is in love. Her soul seems to be on fire with an immense beauty that radiates so brightly. I want that soulish beauty to be based and focused on God, not a guy. At the same time I have to acknowledge that I do desire to have a relationship with a man. I am definitely relational at my core, as is God. We both just want to be loved and to give love to others. Also, I was created to be as God called Eve, an "ezer kenegdo", or as one translation states "sustainer beside him." Just as we need God to help us through life, we as women long to journey through life next someone else to help and share this adventure called life.

Final thought from the book: "There is a radiance hidden in your heat that the world desperately needs."

I don't want to put a blanket over the radiance out of fear or lies that the world (and satan) tell us, tells me all the time. I know that satan doesn't want this light of beauty to shine because it will show the world the glory of God and God will use that glory to captivate His lost children and draw them to Himself.

~Steph