God Put Me Through Beauty School

Proverbs 2: 1-6: My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and IF YOU LOOK FOR IT AS FOR SILVER AND SEARCH FOR IT AS FOR HIDDEN TREASURE, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and FIND THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

IF YOU SEARCH FOR WISDOM AS IF IT’S A HIDDEN TREASURE….YOU WILL FIND IT!

Ok, I’ve read this scripture 5 zillion times. It was my staple scripture for almost a decade. But I just recently saw it with new eyes!

Several years ago, I was telling a skeptical friend about something God had done in my life. It was probably something similar to the things I share here…like when I blogged about “Holy Inside Joke! God’s in on it!” My hilarious boyfriend agreed to watch a silly girl’s movie with me and we were joking about it being our “fancy pants” date. I was leaning on my Bible at the time and looked down at a scripture that talked about wearing “Garments of Splendor!” I’m sure there’s a translation out there that says Fancy Pants! haha. It might sound like a small thing but it was Huge for me! I’m on a path to discover True Beauty and I learned something new about it. Most people agree that a sense of humor tops the “things I find attractive about you” list. So it made sense that the God who invented Beauty would also have a sense of humor. God wanted to be “in on the joke”….the fun side of my life. Who knew he could be that real in our lives!:)

So, it was probably five years ago and even though I can’t remember what I was saying…I’m sure I was telling my friend something similar to this…some new amazing revelation. At that time, he asked me a question that I didn’t think twice about …until now. After discovering more about God’s sense of humor, I woke up with his question so LOUD in my head: “What makes you, Missy Midden, think you’re so special that God would do all this for You.”

I think I finally have the answer!

The intent of the question was probably to point out I’m not really that special. haha It’s funny because I didn’t detect the skepticism at the time so I’m sure I answered enthusiastically as if he really wanted to know. I thought it had something to do with how God related to me personally as a creative person.

Ultimately, it was fair question. One that deserved a good answer.

The last few weeks, I kept thinking about the “wisdom” scripture. It kept coming up and rolling around in my mind. I sorta wondered what God was trying to show me since I had already dissected this scripture for years….but then I saw it! I saw the answer to his question. If you search for Wisdom as if it’s a Hidden Treasure….you will find it!! This suggests LIFE IS MEANT TO BE AN ADVENTURE! “Finding hidden treasure????” that’s like something out of Indiana Jones. Wisdom is universal…we all need it. So, these creative revelations are not just for creative types. God said we could have wisdom if we searched for it like a hidden treasure! Getting to know God IS the adventure. Our life is designed to be an adventure! So the only difference between my friend and me was that I chose to look under a few more rocks. I dug a little deeper in search of something significant. Something Beautiful. Pearls of Wisdom! I searched fully convinced I would find some new treasure! I would find God and Divine Inspiration for that moment of my life. I think it’s important to walk in Divine inspiration rather than be a slave to what seems safe and practical to everyone else.

So recently, I checked my treasure map, dusted off a little sand and found that God had a sense of humor. I discovered that God is so much more than the One who listens to our desperate prayers or approves our earnest pursuits and good deeds….but he Delights in our FUN TIMES! He asks us to rejoice …but look …he rejoices over us too! Isn’t that such a cool picture!!!

Zephaniah 3:14-17 Sing O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy…..The Lord the King of Israel is with you; never again will you fear harm…do not fear o Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great DELIGHT in YOU. He will quiet you with his love, He will REJOICE OVER YOU with SINGING.

Sometimes the “small” thing …IS….the adventure! Today, for example, I discovered true beauty can be found at Marshalls! haha (I’ll write about this next…it’s funny and meaningful)

So to finally answer my friend’s question…. We’re ALL that special!!! Look for Him and see what You find! I think this is when life will get interesting for you! This is the way to turn a dull life into a (better than Indiana Jones) kind of adventure!

By the way, when my friend was suggesting I believed I was a little “too special” …I was at the very lowest point of my life. What a testimony to the power of God’s adventure! Even though I was crushed in every way imaginable and it would have made more sense for someone to feel sorry for me….instead ….someone actually believed I thought I was “too” special! You know why ….because I was SPECIAL. I was blessed to learn that unimaginable treasure, an exciting adventure, pearls of wisdom and True Beauty can be found even in the darkest phase of your life. This adventure isn’t reserved for the rich, the creative, the stable, the ‘no longer hurting’…God never let me be a victim of my circumstances!

We are all meant to be free….to live the adventure ….to wear the hat! Who Knows what we’ll find …there’s so much ground to cover!

I pray God gives you courage to search for him as if He’s a hidden treasure and the faith to BELIEVE you WILL find Him!

Love and Hugs…
Missy

Ugh….WAITING! WAITING for your soul mate to show up….Waiting for someone to say, ‘You’re hired’……Waiting on some kind of spark to bring you to life again….Waiting for that person to change….Waiting for everything to run smoothly for once, Waiting for the microwave to beep…WAITING, waiting, waiting….

Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

You might be thinking, “Yeah but for how long? I’ve been waiting for years ….in some cases…all my life.” Ok and realistically sometimes a few minutes or a whole half a day!:)

But no matter how optimistic, “spiritual” or “strong” we are, we have those days we’re just sick and tired of waiting! I wonder if God can relate? I wonder if sometimes we’re really not waiting at all but Running as fast as we can in the wrong direction?…just to be moving?…just to be doing Something?

I wonder if, in fact, God is WAITING on Us?

So a lively, free-spirited friend of mine was going to bust if she didn’t have a summer ADVENTURE. Much to her Dismay….NOTHING was really working out but she felt like God was telling her He had something special for her. Even though she tried to venture out on her own a few times, ultimately, she surrendered and chose to wait on God wholeheartedly. During this process, I watched her go through a “boot camp” of life lessons and grow quickly. Then, on a casual, adventure-free day, she had eyes to see something New. She knew in her heart it was the “something special” from God. This adventure didn’t require a plane ticket because it was in her own neighborhood. It might not have been what she was expecting but it was Much Better. It was also something that had been there all along but she never really noticed it. I believe God didn’t give her eyes to see it until she was ready. I was inspired by this because I could see the wisdom and perfection of God’s timing. He wants to give a Good gift and maybe sometimes we have to learn a few things in the meantime. Maybe we need to grow from the little trials in front of us first. Otherwise, the gift might not even be a blessing. I believe God protects us so we don’t ruin our own good gifts….like pouting before a surprise birthday party because you thought everyone forgot about you. ooooo Just wait …. it’s gonna be worth it!

Isaiah 64: 3-5: For when you did AWESOME things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways.

He is waiting on you to Remember Him….He wants your attention. He wants you to be ready….so he can give you an AWESOME gift…it’s all part of the Beautiful Adventure.

So maybe God relates to the pain we feel when we have no choice but to WAIT. He wants to give us unbelievable gifts and he’s not ignoring our needs nor our heart’s desires. He’s waiting. Waiting until the gift will be a blessing and not a curse. So, again, just maybe in all of our inner grumbling about having to Wait on God and thinking he’s taking FOREVER….maybe God’s actually waiting on Us.

It might not always be the case…but God I pray today we would stop and surrender. Instead of trying to manipulate our circumstances or expect the other person to change….God help Us to change. Help us to draw closer to you. Help us to remember your ways. And for those of us weary in well doing…help us to let You be the strong one. Help us grow a little more this week. Help us to see you in Heaven dying to give us a good gift:))

Pearls of Wisdom=True Beauty (from my niece Kelli): Don’t try to be so strong on your own. Give God your fear.
“He makes all things new. There isn’t room for perfectionism because God is already the perfect one and he doesn’t require that of you. He wants you to listen to him. Let him be the perfect one and let him make all things new”

I know I told you I was going to write about wisdom next ….shoot….I haven’t forgotten about it.
Hugs and Love
Missy