photo & graphic: Martha G. Brady & canva.com
I took this photo the other day, later made it into a graphic for a class I’ve been taking all month that has been way too much fun, and this is what I came up with to share with you today. (It’s now a book on Amazon.)
What I love about this photo, and over the years, I have seen a variety of forms of this verse, especially at missionary conferences…often with crusty bare feet on people who have never worn shoes, is that no matter how ugly the foot looks physically, it is in reality beautiful because of the message it is bringing!
Whether you are a man or woman rushing around doing things in your everyday wear, you are bringing the gospel (translated good news here) and peace to others…or not. If you are bringing good news and peace by your actions and words in your everyday life, your feet are beautiful…no matter how pretty or ugly they are physically!
Encouraging words, loving actions, kind behavior?
They all touch our lives with beauty, the beauty of Jesus!
When you stop to think about it, how many times have you been weak or down or suffering and someone’s kind, encouraging word made them look beautiful to you? You didn’t notice their features because of the beauty of their words or actions!
That is the way it is in GOD’s world…and in the real world! Stopping to think of the encouraging way to say something? the kind way to do something? the loving thing to do? Or maybe you didn’t stop to think about it and notices GOD helped those things come to mind when yours was addled and those words wouldn’t naturally be the ones that would come out! That is GOD working out His new life in you.
You know what a gift it has been to you in times of need. What a grace others have shown to you. And even if you don’t feel you have ever been shown any encouragement or grace by others before, now is the time to start a new tradition in your home, your family, your church, your community.
Is this kind of change easy? No.
But so worth it!
Is it easy? No. That’s why we have to wear running shoes and jeans. That’s why we have to trust GOD to enable us. That’s why we do one thing at a time, one interaction at a time. One step at a time.
Then, one day we look back and realize GOD actually changed us and a few others around us as well! He doesn’t ask us to change everyone. He asks us to live out the good news that He died for sin and rose from the dead and lives to intercede for us! The rest of it is just walking through the life He gives us to live, one step at a time…by His grace, in our running shoes, learning to show the gospel/good news and peace to those around us by the way we live and the words we say. It will never be perfect. We will fail often. But that is why we need Him.
Jesus fulfilled this for us at the cross.
We don’t have to be in bondage to the questions “How much did I share the gospel/good news today?” “How much did I show peace to others today?” It will be a natural outworking of my being “in Christ.”
Where do you see signs that GOD is doing that work in you?
Where do you see signs that you need to respond to the nudgings of the Spirit more often?
As a teenager, I met a girl I thought was the most homely person I’d ever seen. Then, because of the school I attended (also an overseas boarding school) I ended up standing beside her every day in choir practice. She became beautiful to me as we became friends and I learned of her beautiful heart and her genuine love for others and for Christ. That experienced changed me in a profound way and your message is right on target! 🙂
i had something similar Carol. i considered myself to be without many friends (i’m not sure it was really true) when i was at a certain stage in high school. i tho’t it was b/c i wasn’t very pretty until i b/c aware that some people i knew she weren’t very pretty had lots of friends. i watched them and noticed that they were just indiscriminately friendly to people. it wasn’t complicated. i started smiling more and being friendly and was surprised with the results!
My life has been a journey of talking less and listening more (and praying before I speak). I’ve made the praying before I speak in tense situations a habit and I’ve found that every time, God is good and he helps me by either 1) not giving me anything to say, so I stay quiet a little while longer 2) giving me the words that won’t fan flames of anger or sow seeds of hurt.
i was doing well at that…until i moved, anita. i’m going to have to relearn that lesson. haven’t been doing well on the listening lately:(
I love that verse. It has a special, intimate meaning to me. I wrote about it in a recent blog post: http://drmichellebengtson.com/our-hearts-desire/ God is so good. We are not inherently beautiful, but in His eyes we are! Blessings.
i remember that post you wrote very well michelle! my face was scarred by a dog bite when i was about 18 months old. it was minor compared to your foot/leg problems of course, but when it was almost always the first thing my mom commented when she saw me (i was in boarding school for high school in the US. they were missionaries) it always seemed to be such a big thing!
it was only much later that i realized the scar probably represented more guilt for my mom than it did actual disfigurement for me. too bad it took so long to figure that out:( it may even be that some of your words in your post influenced my thinking. i loved it! the truths of it work for both those who are truly disfigured and those who see themselves as disfigured and not the beautiful daughters of the King they truly are!
may GOD grant us the insight to see ourselves as GOD does, in Christ, dressed in the robes of righteousness Jesus has put on us because of His death and resurrection for us that have made us beautiful:)
Oh how I agree! It’s my prayer that God helps me to see myself as He does, and to see Him more accurately as well. You are so right – His word applies to those who have actual physical disfigurement and those who see it in themselves. His grace covers us all! Hope Prevails!
That photo is WONDERFUL and I’m a purple addict. This truly was a “me”. Thank you so much. Filled me with joy and strongly smiling.
it was a fun photo to fix up joanne. i took it at our granddaughter’s soccer game…of my son-in-law’s shoe! it’s grayer than the photo, but i liked the more purple look on the color filter:) so fun to fix up the photos and do all the magic to them, isn’t it? seems i’ve been forgetting about that color until recently. suddenly, i’ve been using it more almost as a neutral…dark purple lettering instead of dark brown…looks very regal:)
I can tell you too much, BUT you got in my life today. About 30 years ago someone gave me something to wear that was purple. I actually used it in my wedding, that will be 30 years in September, and could show you some wonderful photos if there’s a way to do that. I might bug you. Anyhow, even though I didn’t anticipate to focus on purple, now most of my clothes have it or fit into it, and sometimes it’s in my house, by bed, my hard. Everyone gives me more and more pieces that are purple. Anyhow, now it’s a “me” issue. I’ve often said that when I’m in heaven and there’s a funeral issue in our church or anyplace else, they may NOT wear black. They can wear purple, teal [my husband’s favorite], pinks, or greens. Lots of wonderful colors that make people grin. Anyhow, just bugged you too long, maybe, but you grabbed my attention. Bless you and thank you.
joanne, i love it:) i also love the concept of color at funerals! i’m much more into color than black for sure! glad you have so much tradition and memory tied to purple:)
Well bless you and thank you for taking some time with me. Made me smile!! Again, thank you!
You’re the second person that recommended Crystal’s course! Happy to be here to see your creativity from Lisha’s!
it definitely has been fun elizabeth! each day has had a bite sized assignment. i wasn’t very proficient in instagram b/f but i’m getting pretty used to it now:) once you finish this class, i’m guessing you will find both instagram and pinterest to be very friendly places. since i enjoy visuals so much, i decided to try it. both fun and not overwhelming. i needed to find new apps beside picmonkey which was my fav but needs adobe flash drive to work. i’m no longer allowed to use anything i can’t load from the apple store. (got too much malware on my apple computer!) guess i was playing in the wrong neighborhoods or something.