You Are Beautiful, Day 10

"You are beautiful." 

What comes to your mind when you hear that sentence? Is it someone's physical beauty? Or maybe a perfect flower in your garden? Is it a desire to hear that sentence said to you from someone you love?

As I prepared to share my thoughts on beauty, I thought a good place to start would be with a definition:

Beautiful: An adjective meaning to have qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc.; delighting the senses or mind; wonderful; very pleasing or satisfying

Two parts of this definition struck me: delighting the senses or mind and very pleasing or satisfying.

When God created the world, He said that all He created was good. Until, that is, he created man (human). Then, and only then, did He say that what He had created was very good.  I can only think that He must have seen His creation as delightful to His senses, and since He stopped after He created man, He must have been satisfied.

When we look at our creation, as male and female, by God, and we realize He was satisfied after He created us, how can we not see ourselves as beautiful.

When an artist is satisfied with his painting? It is beautiful.
When a sculpter is finished with his statue? Again, beautiful.
When a chef has completed the night's feature menu item? Beautiful (with a kiss of the fingers)
When a new baby is born? Beautiful.

It is when we are satisfied that we see beauty in the world. When our senses and mind are delighted that we name something beautiful.

So, why is it so difficult to see ourselves as beautiful? Why is it when someone tells us "You are beautiful," do we blush and struggle to say thank-you graciously?

It all harkens back to sin entering the world. Something that God created as good, very good, the devil was so jealous of he had to attack; to cause God to be displeased with.

And yet...

Our Creator loves us so much, finds us, His creature, so satisfying that He became one of us and allowed Himself to be tortured and put to death in order to redeem us. To return us to our original beauty. His satisfaction and delight in His creature, His beautiful sons and daughters, came before His displeasure. Our beauty, your beauty and mine, comes before our sin.

So, the next time you feel less than beautiful, less than satisfying or pleasing, gaze upon a crucifix at the most beautiful, satisfying sacrifice that was ever mind. Remind yourself it was done for you, the pleasing, delightful creature. For you, a daughter (or son) of God.

And I'll work on this too.

Rebecca and her husband "The Man" have been married for 7 years and 363 days. She blogs at The Road Home about being Catholic, infertility, her fur-babies, and Mountaineer football.