Saying Thank You

The other day I was told "I can really tell you've lost weight", my response "whatever, shut up." Nice right! But that's how it goes, someone says something nice to me and I either say oh it's no big deal or make some sarcastic remark to cover up my insecurities. When did that happen? When did I become unable to simply say thank you and believe they are telling the truth. Honestly, that's what the problem is...I don't really believe someone could genuinely be nice to me just for the sake of being nice. I think there must be some hidden agenda...maybe they will follow the compliment with a laugh, or maybe they are only saying it because they want something in return. You know, like when someone says "nice hair" is it because they want you to say "oh thanks, you look really cute today too"? Ugh.

I'm currently going through a bible study with some fabulous women involving a book called Do You Think I'm Beautiful? Let me just tell you, not a book I would have chosen. But I'm doing it and dare I say I'm learning from it and I believe they would tell you the same thing. Each Wednesday night we get together and search to find out why God says we are beautiful. After they left this last time I got to thinking that maybe God is trying to tell me I'm beautiful and in ways not so beautiful I'm replying "whatever, shut up." I know, gasp! But don't we all the time say that God works through people and circumstances? Maybe all those times someone has said something nice to me, it was really God dropping love notes for me. Maybe each time I look in the mirror and shake my head in disgust what I'm doing is dropping notes that tell God I don't like the creation he made.

The world fills our head with images, voices, clothes that say one size but mean another. The world is fallen. If for one minute we lose sight of that, take our eyes off the Truth, then yes we begin to see ourselves as anything but beautiful. What I'm beginning to learn is that beauty, in God's eyes, doesn't mean physical at all. The physical will be taken care of, the Bible says that when we die we will receive a body just like Christ...that means we can do the happy dance because our bodies will be perfect! woohoo! For now though we need to view ourselves, our whole selves, not as wee see, but as Christ sees us. So how do we do that?

By taking compliments, saying Thank You, looking in the mirror and seeing the person God thought so highly of to create. He could have changed his mind you know. He could have thought of you and then said "Whoa! Lets not do that!" But he didn't. He made you and He made me. And the Bible is clear that he sees us as beautiful. They say you can see a person's soul through the gateway of their eyes. Instead of wondering what God sees when He looks into your eyes, what do you see when you look into His? That my friend is where the beauty lies.

So, my hope for us is that we will begin to say "thank you" without reading into the compliment, we will begin to say good things about ourselves without the need to put us down, and we will begin to look into His eyes searching for His soul not ours.

Till next time...