“Why can’t you see yourself as beautiful as I see you?”

These Avett Brothers lyrics have been playing over and over in my head the past few weeks. It makes me think of a couple of things. One, I feel that these are the lyrics God sings to us. I feel like he longs for us to see the beauty in ourselves - that is God’s own image. He sees us for what we were meant to be and it has got to kill Him (literally) to see what we’ve done to His image. His image has been distorted in us because of the Fall, but there is hope in the fact that His image is there. And if His image is in me, the worst of sinners, then it is also in the homeless man, the violent teen, the drug dealer, and in each team member.
That brings me to the second thing. We must see others as beautiful so that they too can see themselves as beautiful. If we are to fulfill the second most important commandment as stated by Jesus (Love your neighbor as yourself…), then we must see the image of God in everyone we meet. Not just in the good things or good characteristics of these individuals but in everything about that person. For I believe God is always present, so we must refuse to see the muck but to see the beauty so then we can recite these lyrics to the man who has given up. I truly long for us to see each other as beautiful as God sees us.

Mission Year?

I think I cringe a little bit whenever someone says Mission Year. I feel like this goes against everything I read about in my Bible. This is not a year event. I am not here to be cleansed of a bug I have in my system and I do not feel like this is a Missions trip in the least bit. (I understand if you wish to withdraw support at this time haha :) I am here to learn, grow, and live. I feel called to a very simplistic life and I do not feel called to do so for just one year. I feel as if this will be my life. I wish to move into in low income area and live along side of my neighbors’ there. Mission Year (and yes I cringed a bit there) is what I am using to teach me. I felt called to living in community and living with the poor long before I knew about Mission Year, but I thought it would be wise if I learned from people who have experience in these areas. I feel called to the poor because I believe I cannot be close to Jesus if I am not close to the poor, for He says "... whatever you do to the least of these you do to me". So hopefully with that in mind ya'll will partner with me for more than just a year. Hopefully we will be challenged and stretched through things I see and experience and maybe even prompt you to join me. Yes I am doing Mission Year but it is just a notch on my belt in my Mission Life!