Be Beautiful

            I remember in college an assignment where the professor said, “You can do your project on any topic you like,” and then further commented that other than the standard works cited page and other normal requirements, we didn’t have any further specific instructions.  I can tell you that threw me for a loop!  I was very concerned with the required page length, did she want an outline, a first draft, or any other particulars about topics.  I was terrified I would do it wrong, or at minimum, not include something that was considered important, at least by any other professor.

            The professor held her ground, even though we as a class, pressed for more instruction. Ambiguity in that situation unraveled me!  Instructors always gave specifics leaving little or no doubt to their expectations.  How could I write a paper without specifics?

            Sometimes we approach our lives in the same manner.  Because we have no specific rules or guidelines to gauge our interest, career choice, or other important circumstances we are faced with, daily decisions become difficult and murky, causing us to flounder, wondering what in the world we do next.  What can I do that matters?  We find we have interests in one area, but it doesn’t last long because the importance diminishes over time.  So we try something new and again find our concentration only lasts a short while, before we’re jetting off and trying yet another pursuit.

            We each have something special to share, a gift if you will, that only we can sustain and fulfill the way God designed.  I have what I consider a beautiful Christmas cactus.  It sits on my counter most of the year looking like nothing more than an ordinary cactus; but every year, near late November, I begin to see blooms.  I am awed as I watch this “plain cactus” transform into a thing of beauty.  We are in the Christmas season and like the Christmas cactus we have the ability to change our “plain lives” into something beautiful for God.

Complacency causes doubts even if we know what to do, and find we get off track.  So I ask you, do you celebrate with the beautiful gifts God has given you?  We are to obey Him and make wise decisions with our gifts.  He wants our best, which makes us beautiful, just like the cactus, rather than giving our leftovers, when we are too tired to even think!

  As we continue in this Advent season, a time when God gave us his Son, I suggest you ask yourself, “What did I give Him this week?”   I urge you to give your best and be beautiful!

Ephesians 5:15-17  Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.