Hidden Beauty

HIDDEN BEAUTY

By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly

“If our spines were visible from the outside, we would be much more likely to take good care of them.”   I repeated this phrase countless times over my 32 years in chiropractic practice—usually in response to a new patient lamenting having neglected their spine.

Vanity causes us to put higher priority on what we can be seen over what is invisible.

In 2019, beauty was estimated to be a $532 billion dollar industry.  Every year more is being spent on cosmetics, tooth whitening, plastic surgery, hair implants, fashion and the like.  We strive for an image that will attract what we desire, investing time and money to attain an appearance that is impossible to maintain longterm.

We fight the visible aging of our bodies, while there are aspects of our lives that remain overlooked, because we can’t see them with our eyes.  We tend to place value on what can be seen, while discounting the invisible, neglecting it until the gnawing pain of our disease can no longer be ignored.

This morning the Lord asked me, “What would you discover if you could see your spirit today?”

Would I see malnutrition, neglect or scars?  On self examination, would there be an offensive odor from lack of regular washing, or a deformity from underlying disease?  Taken a step further, how much different would our world be, if we were all more concerned about pursuing inner beauty than with outer beauty that does not last?

“You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.” – 1 Peter‬ ‭3:4‬ ‭NLT

Lord, shine a light on our hearts—our spirits—those parts that are so precious that You hide them within us.  Reveal our brokenness, disease and uncleanness, and then heal and cleanse us by the finished work of the cross.

Lord, renew our minds to ascribe value where You do.  Teach us to desire true, unfading beauty—a gentle and quiet spirit.  And when we see one another, may we look past the surface to see the heart, and count as most precious the beauty hidden there.  In Jesus’ Name ❤️

https://www.facebook.com/Prayers-of-a-Ragamuffin-Warrior-171515087035441/

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