I was recently asked by someone from Tennessee how I find beauty in a place that seems to lack the mountains and nature and open spaces that I had grown accustomed to finding beauty in. I loved this question and needed time to process and really discover what beauty meant to me and then how to find it.
Beauty (Dictionary.com):
1. The quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (as a personality in which high spiritual qualities are manifest).
Now going by this definition, I will never be able to accurately express how someone individually could find beauty because beauty is different for each person. What I think is beautiful may be totally different from you. You may hate the color yellow while my entire apartment has a yellow theme. And let's face it, if all of us liked the same thing, what a boring and dull place this would be!
By this definition I will answer the question and then by another definition I will define beauty. Back in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, beauty was easily seen in nature. In the rolling hills, the green grass everywhere, the changing leaves, the wildlife, beauty was tangible. Something all of my 5 senses could participate in. East Tennessee is beautiful! And of course you can have endless bonfires (PS bonfires are my love language.) This picture was taken at the last bonfire I attended before moving and I wish I could just bottle up this moment forever. It was spent with friends sharing stories, eating smores, laughing, listening to music, and enjoying Jesus. This is Tennessee to me.
But let me give you a glimpse of some of the natural beauty I have seen here in New York.
The skyline at night: Breathtaking
Central Park in the snow: Gorgeous
And a short drive away in New Jersey, I can see this:
Outdoor beauty is totally possible here. There may be no rolling hills but there sure are sights and sounds that awaken my heart and reveal God's masterpiece.
But to me, beauty is much more that a pretty sunset or a nice skyline. I find beauty in the people here. Now you are thinking "Well duh, you live in fashion capital of the world. Models and celebrities are everywhere." Elizabeth Kubler-Ross says it best when describing beautiful people.
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known
defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found
their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a
sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with
compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do
not just happen.”
Beauty here is often in the most unlikely of people, in the most unlikely of places. I find beauty in people and their stories, not in their outward appearance. While I believe that yes people looks-wise are beautiful, even the Bible says there is more than just outward beauty.
"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."
Proverbs 31:30
When I see and hear how people have lived and grown and struggled, I see and hear what a beautiful story that God is painting. I see every brush stroke of their lives contributing to some grand masterpiece that will be displayed for all to see. The most beautiful thing in life we can do is to point to the most beautiful thing-the Gospel. The paintings of our lives will look messy during the process, often times we may question the direction of the painter. But when the Gospel pallet comes in and takes over the artwork, God is seen and nothing, absolutely nothing, is more beautiful than He.
So as you read this I challenge you to do 2 things. #1-Go outside and enjoy the beauty that God has painted before you, whether it be rolling hills, rolling tumbleweeds, or rolling subway cars. Whatever your surroundings, find God. The second thing I want to challenge you with is this-find beauty in others. Find it in the pain, the heartache, the messy. Find it in the happiness, the success, the joy. But most of all, see that the beauty in others is really a beauty that comes from something far more beautiful than they. Look to the painter and ask Him to come in and paint you with new colors you never thought possible.
Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the
putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your
adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty
of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious
1 Peter 3:3-4
