Eye of the Beholder

When I look at my son I don't see the freckles across his face that haunt him. When I look at Allison Brooke those pesky cowlicks that make her crazy each and every morning before school are not what my eyes focus on. When I see our baby, her chubby face, crooked eye, or scars don't pop out at me. When I behold my children I see nothing but beauty. Nothing less than amazing. Nothing but who they are and what they mean to this mommy's heart. The "flaws" that seem so large to them are nothing to me. I love Blake's face and every single freckle that he has earned from the hours and hours of hard work and dedication he puts in out on that field in the hot sun. Allie has the most beautiful hair. I love to brush it, to curl it, to play with it. She wakes in the morning with it scattered around her face, cowlicks and all, and she has never looked more beautiful than in those early morning moments. Our baby pickle, each and every ounce of herself is miraculous. There is nothing about her that I do not view as the direct hand of our God. In my eyes they are beautiful. All three of our children. Each part of them.

Why then is it so difficult for me to remember that our Creator feels the same way about me? I am His creation, His child, His beloved. There is nothing about my make up that He does not find beauty in. All too often I think we compare our selves to what this world has deemed as perfect, beautiful, or acceptable. We focus on what we are surrounded with rather than what we are filled with. This has been my struggle as of late. Feeling unacceptable and inadequate.

This morning I am starting over (again). Its so easy for me to lose my focus when it comes to myself. So easy for me to ridicule or degrade my own self. When I view who I am I forget that I am who He has created for me to be, and despite my shortcomings He loves me. Loves me so much that He was willing to go to the cross for me. Just as I see the beauty that lies within the hearts of my children, He finds that beauty in me too because I am His child.

This world is a busy, busy place. I run from here to there and fall in the bed at night feeling broken and bruised from some of what I am faced with( I am sure many of you can understand). Ugly things reside outside the walls of my home and some of those things try to steal my focus from what is truly important. Its not about my dress size or my flaws, its about my heart. Its not about Ashley Kate's struggles, its about her triumphs. No matter how large or how small they may seem on the charts or the scales of this world.

Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder and when I look around me I choose to see it.