Thursday, February 21, 2013

Beautifully and Wonderfully Made


Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God's handwriting.  Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.  -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

You are beautiful.

Yep, right now, this very minute, all sweaty, in jammies or worn down from the day.  
You are beautiful.

Which, in turn, means you are sacred.

Irreplaceable.

Magical.

Amazing.

Beautifully and Wonderfully Made.

If we could have one life lesson taught to our children I would pick this...because then our kids would be able to make the leap...and know the truth...God makes no mistakes.  Every single one of us is beautifully and wonderfully made.

Lately, I've seen story after story of heartbreak.

A man with Down Syndrome goes to the movies, Zero Dark Thirty, and ends up dying at the hands of security guards -- he didn't want to leave the theater.  He didn't want to pay for another ticket.  

Because no one could see his beauty.  
They couldn't or wouldn't take the time to really see the situation or know the pain.  They wanted him out...at any cost.  He wasn't worthy of their time or effort.

Honestly, I wish I was kidding.  Really?? A teacher?  
Too blind to see beauty in another person.
Too deaf to know that laughter or kindness don't have a language or a sexual orientation. 

Every single person on the planet is beautiful.
Yes, even the retarded.  The broken. The disabled. The gay. The homeless. The frightened. 
The overlooked.  The depressed.  The sick.  

Yes, even you.

Once we can notice our own beauty, we can notice it in others.

Once we stop hating ourselves, we can offer a bit of love to others.

Let's stop and teach it to our kids...we are ALL beautifully and wonderfully made.

Today, have the talk.
Today, step off the scale...stop complaining about your abs, your nose, your thighs, your hair...
love yourself.  So your kids can love themselves.  So all of this can melt away.

And we can all live like this guy...
I dare you to be blind to his beauty.  I dare you to say that he isn't absolutely stunning.  
I dare you to watch this video without seeing a new world.

His name: Nick Vujicic.  His message:You are beautifully and wonderfully made.


Can't wait to hear how you share your beauty...your grace...your life.



2 comments:

  1. Beth, this brought tears to my eyes. Parents and teachers have bigger charge than to teach each child that they themselves have everything they need inside themselves. As Maya Angelou says, "You alone are enough...you have nothing to prove to anybody." Thank you for your beautiful words.

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    1. Awww Jennifer, thank you! I agree with you and Maya Angelou (who I secretly believe I would be BFF's with if only we could meet!) :) -- our mission as parents and teachers is to help our kids discover that they are, indeed, enough...more than enough. ~Beth

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