Beauty through Blemishes

This is an entry I posted on my blog. I figured I'd post it here as well. The link to my blog is in my bio.

After a long day of studying, I decided to head over to the Sunken Garden and just sit for a while. Relax and spend some time with God (which I hadn’t been doing for quite some time).

I sat down on the cold, grassy field. My Jasmine Green Tea in one hand, I pulled out my phone in the other and played some worship music. I didn’t really have a particular type or genre of worship in mind. Just something to help me meditate and focus.

A few minutes went by, maybe 10 or 15, I wasn’t too sure. I looked at the ground surrounding me, but I didn’t feel anything. I was sort of expecting to get some sort of feeling inside me to know it was God speaking to me. Trying not to feel discouraged, I looked up at the sky. It was a crisp blue with splatters of white scattered about. It dawned on me that I hadn’t really done any cloud gazing, so I decided to see what random shapes or crudely formed figures I could find.

For a moment or so, nothing I saw really stood out. I turned away for a moment or so, as something had caught my attention. When I turned to gaze at the sky once more, I saw what looked to me as a Knight of some sort. He was pointing a sword, diagonally from where I was. The clouds around him seemed to point in a similar direction, in the shape of arrows.

I was really confused at this point. I wasn’t sure if I was just crazy or imagining things or what. I couldn’t tell if it was God or just my mind making things up. I looked in that direction briefly, not sure where in the world I was supposed to go. I had never really been in that direction before. I turned to look at the sky again. The arrows were still pointing. Not sure what to do, I pivoted to look in that direction more clearly, still unsure of what to do. The next time I turned to the sky, most of the arrows had faded, except for one smaller one, still pointing that way. I wondered if God was waiting to see if I’d respond, giving one last final guiding hand.

I had never had this type of encounter with God before, so I was thrown a little off balance. I felt a bit crazy, but I was curious. I stood up, almost automatically, with my tea in hand. I put my phone back in its clip as it continued to play worship music. I grabbed my backpack and began to walk.

As I ventured off, I mostly followed my instinct (whatever caught my attention, that’s where I’d go). I was led in a few directions, a little irritated since I was tired and had been out studying most of the day. I wanted to go back to my dorm and take my backpack off and rest. Despite that, I kept going. I vaguely listened to the music playing as I advanced. The lyrics, “Jesus is calling” from the song “O Come to the Altar” caught my attention, which I found a bit ironic.

I eventually made my way to the Williamsburg Baptist Church. It was weird to me since I didn’t attend this church and had never really been over in this direction. I stood around quite hopelessly and lost for a bit, thinking that maybe I had misheard God. I couldn’t tell where He was pointing, I looked to the clouds, hoping He would give me a sign. The shape of a finger, pointing to the church. I thought this was strange, what could possibly be over there? Regardless, I crossed the street to the church property.

I slowly adventured through the property, thinking to myself Okay God. You’ve led me this far. There’s got to be a reason why you told me to come here. However, as I continued around to the back of the church, I grew more frustrated. I didn’t feel anything. Did I misunderstand God? Did I do something wrong? Did I need to retrace my steps?

I continued around the property, and came upon old trees, stripped naked from their leaves. I weaved through and approached some bushes towards the brick wall close to the street. I examined for a bit, and a bush caught my eye.

(Sorry if the picture is poor quality. I took it on my phone).

The green leaves of the bush were speckled with white patches. Some of the leaves were completely covered. I was initially tempted to touch it, but I decided against it (I know nothing about plants and didn’t want to take any risks).

The white patches contrasted so beautifully on the leaves. I had seen discoloration on leaves before, but not to this extent. Not white patches that stood out so much.

I stared at the bush, examining all the leaves. They all seemed to have white patches of their own. They all had these blemishes covering them, but that didn’t take away from their beauty as a part of this world. I thought about this for a b

I thought about this for a bit, wondering what this has to do with anything in my life.

Beauty through the blemishes.

Despite these markings, the leaves weren’t any less beautiful or valuable. The spots didn’t mean anything.

It’s the same way with us.

We all have blemishes. We all have markings and flaws, some we’re not proud of. Some we try to cover up in shame and disgrace. But that’s not how God sees it.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 talk about how our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, given to us by God. He wants us to care for ourselves. He loves us. He paid the price by sending His son to die for us so that we have a chance to be with Him. God doesn’t look at us and see blemishes. He only sees the beauty in His children.

He doesn’t want us to feel shame over our flaws. Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” God never disgraces us for our mistakes or flaws. He sees past that. He sees our true worth and beauty, even in the things that we tried to hide from everyone, including Him. This is through His son Jesus, who covers us. And why did He choose to do that?

Because He loves us. Because He wants us, wants to be with us.

God doesn’t want us to be ashamed of our blemishes. He wants us to see past them, to see them as He does, and how He can use those blemishes and make something beautiful out of them.

Author's Note

This isn't really a story or anything like that. Just a personal thing I experienced and figured I'd share it. I had posted in on my blog and decided to post it here as well.