"Looking for Lovely"

I want to tell you one of the highlights of Looking for Lovely for me. Not only have I learned to look at the world – ups and downs, good and bad, beautiful and ugly, seemingly positive and seemingly negative – with eyes that see God and His goodness, but I’ve learned to see myself with more kindness and compassion, too.

Because I’m looking for lovely in the world around me, I can look for lovely within myself in all stages and seasons. When Annie talks about collecting moments that matter, it seems she's more willing and able now to look back at all the moments and take away what matters. I am, too.

I love this idea of grabbing an actual jar to fill with reminders of life's moments. In so many ways, this is the truest form of redemption. Looking back over my life and remembering all the moments – even the painful ones – with joy represents the beauty of the Gospel. Because of Jesus and His victory over sin and death, I can look at reminders of my worst days with a gladness, because that’s where I experienced redemption.

All the moments Annie shared with us throughout this book have been examples of her own change of perspective. In her words, she’s a different woman now, but she’s learned to respect and honor the woman in the past that was suffering. That Annie did the best she could do. That Annie plus Jesus was enough.

Here’s my question today. When you look back over your life, do you see a time when the Jesus of the Bible became YOUR Jesus? Is there a time, recent or past, when you spoke of Jesus with the words, “my Jesus?”

I’m asking this question, because the answer probably points to an experience, a season, or a moment you’d rather forget. It may not mark a highlight from the past, a stellar performance on your part, or a season you would have chosen. But, if it introduced you to the reality of your need for a Savior, isn’t it lovely?

This is the perspective shift we all need, and it’s the shift we must receive. I don’t believe we can just decide to change our mind on this one. From my personal experience, we collect the moments that matter over our lives until suddenly we see with new vision. One day, we wake up to our lives, the veil is removed from our eyes, and God has become “my God,” and Jesus is “my Jesus.”

Why don’t you just sit with a journal and your thoughts for a bit. Collect the moments that matter on your page. Let God lead you to do with the memories as He desires.

Bob Goff says, “when someone shares their story with you, it’s holy ground.” I agree with that statement. In this space, I’m inviting you to sit in the moments of your story with the Author. What could be more sacred? In this space, I believe He will write some plot twists. He will shift the vision offering you the chance to see yourself with kindness, grace, and beauty even if you never have before.

God, in so many ways I’m looking at redemption now as a perspective shift. Because of Jesus, there’s a plot twist in every story if we allow it. There is a moment when bad becomes good, ugly becomes pretty, and loss becomes gain. That doesn’t mean you fix everything so that we only experience positive. It DOES mean that You shift things within us so that we experience You in the midst of everything. For my friend that can't see lovely in her story because she can't see lovely in herself, shift the perspective right now. Remove the veil from her eyes immediately. You are the Redeemer, and I’m thankful! Amen.