Valuable Things

Scripture: You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight. Luke 16: 15

If you are a mother, whether you enjoy it or not, you probably spend loads of time in your kitchen. I was thinking this morning about the three most important pieces of equipment in my kitchen aside from the appliances of course and every-day dinnerware. I determined that they were the items I used the most: a pot that I boil water for tea, a mix and pour bowl, and the slim spatula. Stop for a moment and think about what you use the most in your kitchen.

If you were to walk around any kitchen and pick out what you deemed to be the most valuable, you might pick out the most expensive looking items, like a nice mixer or a frilly coffee maker. However in my kitchen you would certainly not pick out the grungy pot where the tea bags steep. It is stained and bent in places. I would not even cook anything else in it because it is dedicated totally to making tea. (Keep in mind I am from the South) My guess is that is the last thing you would pick out to be of value.

The slim spatula is white and is not always perfectly white depending on what I do with it. However, it fits perfectly down inside a can to clean out the contents. It insures the remaining ingredients of any recipe are not left stuck to the last important piece, the mix and pour bowl. I honestly use this bowl every day. I would freak out if I went to try and find it and it was gone.

I was just thinking about how God must have realized that the value of a person or an item is not based on the net value. He took His son, the most valuable thing he had, and disguised him in a barn in a manager. Jesus, the King, did not ever wear jeweled crowns or robes. He always had the appearance of any old Joe. His name in that day was ordinary. You could not have gone into Nazareth and picked out Jesus as a king. He was a very unlikely ruler of any kind.

Inventory in our society puts dollar values on important things. We tend to overlook the valuable things in life until we are met with a reason to take stock of our lives. However when we examine how often we use certain items and realize that we do not want to have to do without them, they suddenly increase in value. Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world and is contrary to what the world deems valuable. Much like I can’t fix anything in my kitchen without my mixing bowl, Jesus may not be valuable to you until you are aware of your sin and realize how you can’t do without Him. How much you are using Jesus will tell you how valuable He is to you.

Leslie Stephens
McMinnville, TN

Prayer: Amazing God, thank you for seeing the value in the small simple things. Teach me how to value Christ above all things. Amen.

Prayer Tip: Take time to journal your time alone with God, so that you can see how valuable it is to your spiritual growth.

Hidden Beauty

Scripture: Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 1 Peter 2:3-4

I'm reading an interesting book called, “Finding Your Own North Star” by Martha Beck. It was purchased for me by a friend who recommended it to me. While there are certain aspects of the book I cannot agree with, it has made me dig deep and really think about what I believe and who I am at my core. I read this most interesting few paragraphs which made me really think hard about the definition of 'beauty'.
Here is the excerpt for your own consideration...

"When the curtain of social judgment pulls back, it reveals the most amazing beauty.

I first became aware of this phenomenon when I was a college art student. Every few weeks, I'd join this or that group of artists, and we'd all pitch in a few bucks to rent a studio and hire a model. Most of the people we got to pose were college students with bodies that matched the social ideal--slender, fit, perfectly proportioned. (After all, who else would risk standing naked in a roomful of strangers?) And then, one day, we got somebody really different.
She looked well over sixty, with a deeply lined face and a body that was probably fifty pounds heavier than her doctors would have liked. She'd had a few doctors, too, judging from her scars. Shining purple welts from a cesarean section and knee surgery cut deep rifts in the rippled adipose fat of her lower body. Another scar ran across one side of her chest, where her left breast had once been. When she first limped onto the dais to pose, I felt so much pity and unease that I physically flinched. But we were there to draw her, so I picked up a pencil.

The thing about drawing is that you can't do it well with your social self. You have to bring out your essential self, which doesn't know anything about social stereotypes. And so, as I began to draw this maimed old woman, the most amazing thing happened. Within five minutes she became a person of absolutely wondrous beauty. She didn't look like a supermodel; she didn't have to. Her body, in and of itself, was as beautiful as a piece of polished driftwood, or a wind-carved rock, or a waterfall. My essential self didn't know that I was supposed to compare the woman to various movie stars, any more than it would have evaluated the Andes Mountains by judging how much they looked like an Iowa cornfield. It simply saw her as she was: an exquisite sculptural form.

When this perceptual shift happened, I was so surprised that I stopped drawing and simply stared. The model seemed to notice this and without turning her head, looked straight into my eyes. Then I saw the ghost of a smile flicker across her face, and I realized something else: She knew she was beautiful. She knew it, and she knew that I'd seen it."

Ok...this made me think of all the times I've found rocks and old driftwood and rusty things with holes in them and brought them home as my treasures, because they are treasures to me! Why do we hate our own flaws and faults? Why can't we see them as unique markings that set us apart and make us more valuable to someone who values true beauty? I love driftwood. I love rusty things with holes and sometimes, I even bring home things that are just a piece of it's former self. It's artistic to me!

I wrote this as a reminder to us all....Don't overlook the beauty all around you!...or even in yourself...

Dian Burch
Loudon, TN

Prayer: Almighty give me eyes to always see things and people the way you see them. Amen.

Prayer Tip: Take a time for silent meditation during your prayer time. You will not regret the silence.

Book Reference: “Finding Your Own North Star” by Martha Beck