"Thanks God I am already seeing the beautiful side."
In her memoir, Tramp for the Lord, Nazi
concentration camp survivor Corrie Ten Boom shared a poignant story. She was visiting Argentina
and had been granted permission to meet with the patients of a local hospital’s
polio ward. Among the patients was a Jewish man, only able to breathe in a
rocking bed that mimicked his body’s natural inhale-exhale rhythm. Corrie
approached him and began to speak with him, telling him about her life in the
concentration camps. She then asked him if he would allow her to tell him about
the One Who had brought her through all her difficulties – Jesus Christ.
The man was unable to speak because of the rocking of the bed, but he scribbled on a small notebook, “I am ready to listen.” So she told him “about the great Messiah.”
Near the end of their conversation, Corrie pulled some embroidery work from her bag and showed it to him. “When I see you on this bed..., not speaking, not moving, I think of this embroidery,” she said, displaying the elegant crown on the front. Showing him the reverse side, all gnarled and knotted, she continued, “Your life is like this. See how dark it is. But when you turn it around then you can see that God is actually weaving a crown for your life. God has a plan for your life and He is working it out in beauty.”
Realizing the truth of Corrie’s words, the man wrote in response, Thanks God [sic] I am already seeing the beautiful side.
After reading Corrie's story, those words echoed through my mind. Beautiful side. Beautiful side.
What is the beautiful side? I came to my conclusion; you can come to your own. But, as I see it, the beautiful side is this:
Since the beginning of time, all of creation has been infused with beauty. When God created the world in six days (Genesis 1:1), He created a world of wonder, complete with vibrant flowers, serene rain showers, and vivid sunsets. The earth was His canvas for a masterpiece like no other. It was beautiful. That sense of beauty has been instilled within our very hearts (Romans 1:20), and we see evidence of that fact all around us. Art, literature, drama, architecture, fashion, education, etc. - all these flow from our pursuit of beauty.
Nevertheless, we don't always attain beauty, and what beauty we have reached hasn't been perfect. Our artwork smears, our writing doesn't flow. On a more personal level: our car slurps up too much fuel; our relationships get tacky; our clothes don't always fit or look right. Our best choice, instead of marching around with a frown and a flustered heart, is to peep around the ragged edges of this fallen world and see the wonder of life as God created it (Luke 12:23). We can celebrate His goodness and share it with others so that they too can delight in Him.
We can live on the beautiful side.
And that, in short, is what this blog is all about. I want to share my perspective of the beautiful side with you - through artwork, poetry, or thoughtful contemplations. God has given me so many blessings; if you look around, chances are you'll find that He's done the same for you. Because He is good, life is beautiful (Deuteronomy 32:4).
Let's live on the beautiful side together.
