Interior Beauty

Photo By: Natalia Raspivina—on Pexels

Often times we want to put our best foot forward and play at the top of our game at all times. But that isn’t practical. It's downright exhausting. How does one balance home life and workplace challenges and one’s vocation? Well I will tell you right now. You can’t. I am inclined to believe that the best laid plans are always disrupted and something goes awry. The first step is to maintain your cool. Peace helps us to cope and we can only have that if we turn to the Lord and practice His presence, staying close to Him. The second step is to make sure your inner voice is not condemning you to a mournful end otherwise you will be prophetic and you will have just that; a bad end.

So what does one do? Walk in faith and trust to the best of your ability. It shows when you have calculated chaos. What does that mean? When life throws you a curve ball you swing the bat. It’s not like you only have three swings. God doesn’t work like that. In His Mercy, the detours are roads that help us to discover who we are and what God wants. Maybe it isn’t picture perfect but it at least will bring us closer to Jesus if we let it do just that.

Here’s some practical advice. Keep your joy. Smile. Be gentle to those around you and to yourself. Say what is true and follow with your actions. Instead of, “I am such a failure!” “I can’t get it right!” “I’m not strong enough!” Try instead, “I made a mistake. It’s okay. I am still learning.” “I am successful. Just had an error. But I just learned____.” “I am enough in Him who strengthens me.” “I am loved.” Then move on. It’s better to think of life as a trampoline than a baseball game. Those failures just jump us higher for the next jump. The journey is about getting there and what the end purpose is. In other words, it’s a mountain climb. Soon we will be out of the valley and on the mountaintop. Those valleys strengthen us for the ascent and the top strengthens us for the valleys and the descents.

Photo by Jan Kohl on Unsplash

Stick to the post. Be faithful in the little things and show up to your prayer times. God still speaks and moves we just have to be sensitive enough to hear. He speaks in so many subtle ways. Whether through reading, a conversation with a friend, scripture study, lives of the saints, spiritual reading, poetry, good literature, a good movie or podcast, the good, the true, and the beautiful. All of this catapults us to a greater understanding of the kingdom and how God manages His children. We need to be humble enough to admit we are not God and that He is in control. Trust me. I understand sometimes it’s hard to see but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. It is just as if you are baking sourdough bread. You put in the leaven but it isn’t instantaneously a fluffy loaf after you add the flour and water. The yeast makes the dough rise over time. We know by the fruits if we are on the right path. One of the biggest signs is interior joy. I don’t mean giddy passing pleasure (though sometimes it happens that way) but a real and deep lasting peace. You can be under great trial, but still happy and flourishing. This is when your interior beauty shines through. Trust and Joy are contagious. A very effective way of fueling your tank and others. It’s the JOY OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE. Be at peace. Nothing whatsoever can separate us from the Love of Christ. He will not abandon you! 

Photo By: Alex P—on Pexels