Princess

She squints her eyes to focus on the image before her.
Peering into the clouded mirror, she was disgusted with what she saw.
She frantically dug into the bag of makeup and paints and, layer by layer, tried desperately to cover all of her flaws.
Minutes passed.
She continued to work.
Frustrated, she threw down the brush and scrubbed vigorously to correct her own mistakes.
Her face red and her skin raw, she picked up the brush again.
Minutes passed.
Hours passed.
She continued to pain herself.
Unsatisfied, desperate, and disgusted, she fell to her knees and sobbed.
A puddle of makeup began to gather at her knees, mixed with her salty tears.
Her body shook violently with sobs.
"Why can I not be beautiful enough?
Smart enough?
Talented enough?" she asked herself.
She felt a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to rise from her knees.
She once again faced the mirror as a voice, still and small, whispered.
"You are fearfully and wonderfully made."
The clouded mirror began to clear.
She began to see herself as she really was.
A princess.
A daughter of the King.

My God is a God of Detail :)

High School Retreat-2011
Hour and a half of silence in the wooded mountains of North Carolina.

"Be still and know that I am God"-Psalm 46:10

I hear running water in a nearby brook.
In the silence all around me, my thoughts begin to dwindle.
All thoughts of school, stress, sickness, and weakness flow with the water down the brook, far away from me.
My intense desires for love and acceptance that have been plaguing my mind for a while suddenly seem unimportant.
And my heart begins to beat with the rhythm of the running water in the brook.

Chills run down my spine as I take in a deep breath of fresh mountain air.
Everything within me cries out in unison with the running water in the brook:
All that is is within me cries for You alone to be glorified, Emmanuel, God with us!
My heart sings a brand new song! My debt is paid, these chains are gone!
Emmanuel, God with us!

As my heart continues to sing, my attention is drawn to a dandelion, not four inches from my nose.
The detail is intense on the small flower.
Each blossom, stem, seed, and shadow...
Designed by the GOD ALMIGHTY. :)



And how much more does He love me?
How much more beautiful am I to Him?