I finally finished moving out of my house yesterday. I say "finally" because for whatever reason this move has extended over many weeks. But finally I cleared and cleaned my house for the last time. After every last thing was loaded and the house was sparkly clean, I took a minute to relax in a completely empty house. And a flood of emotions overcame me. I didn't own the house so I didn't feel a loss in leaving it behind but there was definitely the feeling of a chapter closing in my life. And honestly, one of the more painful chapters of my life. Almost every single thing in my house, I worked hard to buy. And I mean everything. Every piece of furniture, every decorative piece, every utility...even down to the wine opener. I remember the first night I spent in my house - a girlfriend brought a bottle of wine over to celebrate except I didn't have a wine opener. We actually used a power drill to open it - although not ideal, it got the job done. And with that, I added "wine opener" to the list of things I needed to buy. Each and every little thing I saved money to buy, dollar by dollar, until I had money to build my post-divorce life. The past several years of my life have been dedicated to rebuilding - first rebuilding my emotional self and then rebuilding the "things" in my life. Except things have become so much less important to me. And yesterday was a testament to that fact. I have always been rather sentimental. I used to keep everything - and I mean everything. Some might argue I had real hoarder potential! (My fiance might argue that I still have a ton of stuff but he has no idea how bad it was!) But I have slowly realized, stuff is just stuff. Our memory doesn't depend on the stuff we keep. Stuff does not make things less painful. And stuff doesn't bring back loved ones. In fact, most of the time, I have found "stuff" gets in the way of life more than anything else. So I am learning to let go. I still have weak moments...like when I really wanted to find a reason to keep two plant pots that my fiance used to make me a television stand. He reminded me, "Ashley, they are plant pots from Lowe's." And I thought to myself, "Got it....they are just stuff." So I gave them to a neighbor to actually use for potted plants. I gave away or sold SO much of the stuff I worked hard to gain. And yet I do not feel a loss. I am gaining so much more in this move than the physical stuff I am technically "losing". I am gaining an amazing husband (to-be), family, new friends, new adventures...I am gaining the stuff that matters in life. And leaving behind stuff that doesn't. Matthew 6:19-21 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasures is, there your heart will be also. Wine openers, plant pots and the stuff that matters, Ashley Lucille
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I have been struggling with worry, especially over the past week. God has remained faithful in reminding me that I do not need to worry. And that worry is actually a sign of not trusting God and not having faith that He is taking care of it. My fiance reminds me daily not to worry. And this week two of my friends called me out on my worrying. And despite being surrounding by reminders, worry has taken residence in my heart. And to be completely honest and brutally transparent, my struggle with worry, to a greater extent, is an indication I am not trusting God (no need to sugar coat it...God knows my struggle!) In 8 weeks I am moving to North Carolina and I have yet to secure a job. I am probably on my 15th job application and I have been rejected 14 times (the 15th time remains unknown only because I just applied this morning!) I am being recruited by huge hospitals all over the country...California, Texas, Virginia, and even in North Carolina but no where near the city I am moving to in January. I have a doctor of nursing practice degree and over 10 years of nursing experience and yet I can't find a job in a rural community hospital. I am fairly confident God is also using this experience to humble me and I am willing accepting this lesson. However, I feel like I am failing at the lesson of trusting Him and not worrying. As I was driving yesterday, I caught sight of a bird flying through the sky and was reminded of this scripture: Matthew 6:25-34 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. What is incredibly frustrating is even in the midst of my worry, I can't understand why I am worried. God has always taken care of me. I have persevered through so many struggles over the last five years and at the end of the day God has always taken care of me. And He still provides for me today - I am surrounded by family and friends helping me out right now. However, it isn't according to MY plan. I like to be in control of the plan or rather I like to think I am in control of the plan. In reality, we are never in control of the plan. I need to remember God is the ultimate planner and He has plans for me. And His plans are bigger and better than any plan I will ever develop. My role is to worship and graciously submit to His incredible plan. Worship, worship, and more worship, Ashley Lucille Starbucks removed some snowflakes and other holiday symbols from their winter paper cups and suddenly they are accused of being anti-Christian....ladies and gentlemen, it's not about the cup. Christmas is not winter figures on a paper cup. And selecting a plain red (or as Starbucks prefers, "cranberry" colored) cup instead of the traditional snowflakes edition is not the same thing as being anti-Christian. And having a bunch of Christians protesting Starbucks is a great example of how we ,Christians, miss the point. If removing some holiday symbols from a red cup gets more people that do not believe Christ into the doors of Starbucks, where I am sipping on delicious, over-priced coffee, maybe my chances of witnessing to them will increase. If this cup fiasco were an indication that people of Starbucks were anti-Christmas or anti-Christian (which I don't believe it is!), isn't that all the more reason to actually be at Starbucks? Where did Jesus hang out? In the church with "His" people? No, He hung out with nonbelievers. It isn't as much about the cup as what goes in the cup. John 4:7-13 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?” Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” If the women at the well showed up with a Starbucks non-snowflake, plain cranberry colored cup, I am pretty sure He would have still filled it with His living water. Who's cup are you filling up? Coffee, snowflakes and a red cup, Ashley Lucille Lucero. Quinn. Kim. Lucas. Jason. Lawrence. Sarena. Treven. Rebecka. These are the heroes. These are those that truly know sacrifice. Those that gave their lives for Christ last week in Oregon. For some reason over the last couple of months I have a newfound sense of appreciation and overall thankfulness for my religious freedom. It started with David Platt’s book Radical in which he posed the question 'would people living in America continue to worship, attend church and publically express their faith, if it were not so “easy”?'. He goes through several examples of people sacrificing and risking their lives to gather and study the bible. Then he described how “easy” it is to worship in America. We complain when Sunday service runs over an hour, if the music isn’t to our liking or if the seats aren’t comfy. But there are people in the world traveling to private locations to spend 8+ hours reading the bible by candlelight as not to get caught by their local governments. We have it easy. We have no excuse. We know little to no sacrifice. This realization was further magnified during my trip to Scotland. My fiancé and I were discussing the cultural differences in how people express their faith in the United Kingdom compared to America. I (ignorantly) described their culture as compartmentalized. There is life and then there is church and it doesn’t seem like they are integrated. (Disclaimer: I apologize if this offends anyone of British decent. Please keep reading…) Then my fiancé challenged me to change my thinking. America was founded on the idea of freedom and these freedoms have provided me a great foundation to worship with little to no risk. However, these freedoms have also blinded my perspective to sacrifice. In all honesty, I really do not have to sacrifice anything at all to serve my Lord Jesus Christ. The people living in Scotland, England and Ireland have had nothing but religious warfare. As you tour historic site after historic site, it is evident. Openly expressing their faith was not without risk for a long, long time. The majority of battles throughout their histories are based on division of the church. So their comfort level with openly expressing faith is a bit different than mine. It's not that they compartmentalize but rather they are sensitive to thousands of years of religious warfare. Much of their history is centered on sacrifice. But I am starting to wonder how much longer I will have this freedom in America. I feel like Americans are starting to feel “sacrifice”. And I have to wonder if I was in Oregon last week and I was the second person to be asked if I was a Christen, I wonder what my answer would be. It’s really easy to say I would never deny Christ having never actually sacrificed anything of real value to serve Him. But I really wonder if my faith was tested against true sacrifice, would I stand true? I mean, Peter denied knowing Christ and Peter actually knew Jesus when he was living on earth! Matthew 26:31, 33a-34 On the way, Jesus told them, “Tonight all of you will desert me.” Peter declared, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter-this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” Luke 22:54-62 So they arrested him (Jesus) and led him to the high priest’s home. And Peter followed at a distance. The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there. A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally she said, “This man was one of Jesus’ followers!” But Peter denied it. “Woman,” he said, “I don’t even know him!” After a while someone else looked at him and said, “You must be one of them!” “No, man, I’m not!” Peter retorted. About an hour later someone else insisted, “This must be one of them, because he is a Galilean, too.” But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about. And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Suddenly, the Lord’s words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And Peter left the courtyard weeping bitterly. I cannot imagine how Peter felt. But more than that, I am scared that I would be a Peter. I fear that if I had to sacrifice my life I wouldn’t be a Lucero, Quinn, Kim, Lucas, Jason, Lawrence, Sarena, Treven or a Rebecka. I fear I would be a Peter. Me of little faith. I pray God strengthens my faith so I learn to sacrifice in His name. And not be a Peter if ever faced with such incredible sacrifice. To the heroes that had to sacrifice for being a Christian...I admire you. And I truly hope my faith is as strong and firm as yours, if ever faced with sacrifice. Freedom, sacrifice and 9 heroes, Ashley Lucille Note: I wrote this blog prior to the Miss America pageant this past weekend but I have been waiting to post so I could include a copy of the gorgeous painting referenced however, in light of the new #nursesunite movement spun from ignorant comments made on The View...I am going to share early and I will include the picture once I get back from traveling. I might not carry a stethoscope every day but I very much recognize the "talent" involved in nursing. This blog was originally going to be titled "Death Angel" but it definitely describes My View on My Nursing Career...
The first Christmas I was a nurse, my sister gave me a painting of a beautiful angel standing in a fiery pit of flames against a backdrop of a bright blue sky. She said it was her interpretation of what I did each day as a nurse. She equated the angel with the hope surrounding pediatric critical care nursing but she painted the environment as a fire pit of hell since I worked with so much death and dying. The painting was unique and different but I loved it. It still hangs in my home office as a reminder of her wisdom and insight into my career. Almost 11 years ago and her perspective is still so very relevant. Several weeks ago a local news story captured a glimpse of pediatric congenital heart nursing and I happened to be featured in the story. (Link to article/segment: News Story) I was a bit overwhelmed and very humbled by the article because I was under the impression the article was going to focus on the American Heart Association’s Annual Heart Walk. The article seemed to highlight more the bond between a nurse and a pediatric patient battling congenital heart disease. And although the work I do as a nurse manager each and every day is more focused on taking care of the nurses that care for patients, just a few days after the story aired, I found myself right back in that fiery pit depicted by my sister. In a relatively rare occasion as a nurse manager, I found myself actually doing patient care and helping another nurse care for a dying patient. And I was quickly taken back to the painting of the angel. As nurses who work with dying children, we really do work in a hell-like setting. The torment, pain and suffering surrounding both our patients and their parents is like nothing else on this earth. I cannot put into words the way it feels to kneel at a patient’s bedside and pray for a miracle with a mother because you’ve reached a point where medicine cannot heal. Or how it feels to start doing CPR because a child no longer has a self-sustaining heart rate (Just a note: this particular intervention makes you feel like a ravaged, cruel beast more so than an angel or savior). Or the overwhelming defeat you feel while handing over a deceased baby to be held by his/her parents for the very last time. There is no way to describe these experiences but ‘hell’ is a pretty good attempt at a description. I have absolutely no idea why I went into pediatric nursing. And although I work in a pretty fiery pit…I choose to focus on the bright blue sky. I choose to focus on the hope and the healing. I choose to focus on the little ways God can use me in this field to help bring a family through what will likely be the most challenging, painful, and difficult time in their lives. I choose to let God use me. I choose to focus on the bonds I form with nurses, patients and families. Because honestly, these bonds are like no other and I would not trade them for anything in the world. As a nurse, you often find yourself going through experiences with patients and families that no one else in the world understands – even others in their own family do not experience what a nurse goes through with the family - the nurse travels uncharted waters. It is such a special, unique bond and for some reason God has always given me a heart for it. And even though it often feels like the outskirts of hell, I am humbled that the Lord chose me for this small honor on earth. Revelation 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever. A nurse, an angel and a fire pit, Ashley Lucille Last weekend I attended a dear friend’s wedding. It was a lovely weekend filled with many festivities that culminated with a couple of “I do”s. At the beginning of the week, I let the bride know I would be covering her and her fiancé in prayer throughout the week. Because let’s face it…the wedding, that’s the easy part. That’s the fun part. That’s the part where you get all dressed up and share special moments with friends and family. The marriage. That’s different. That’s the hard part. The marriage is where the rubber meets the road and things get real…real fast. When the music stops, the marriage is what is left. And it is so often overshadowed by the wedding. Our society has actually gotten so carried away with the “wedding” they are actually diagnosing brides with post-ceremony depression. The bride goes through withdrawal from being the center of attention and goes into depression. How absolutely ridiculous is that?!? (Disclaimer to this most recent bride…I think this is near impossible for you since you pretty much planned the most intact wedding in less than 3 months while traveling the world from work. Plus, you aren't self-centered enough to suffer from post-wedding depression....just saying)
At the end of the day, the wedding is fairly meaningless. It’s a party. The marriage is what will stand the test of the time. And let’s face it; it takes a whole lot of prayer to jump on the train. Thankfully we have guidance on how to be successful in the role of husband and wife. (Disclaimer…I have yet to be a successful wife. – if ever there were such a thing. This particular blog includes my thoughts, feeling and lessons I’ve learned on my journey and more importantly, the way I will strive to be in the future.) I’ve always loved the verses about submission and love as they relate to marriage and the Church in Ephesians: Ephesians 5:21-26, 31-33 And further, you will submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. You wives will submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything. And husbands you must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up His life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God’s word…As the Scriptures say, ‘A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife and the two are united into one.’ This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself and the wife must respect her husband. And I also believe these verses are often misunderstood. Several weeks ago, the pastor at my church gave an amazing sermon on these verses and on how God designed husband and wife to interact within a marriage. It was one of the first times I really considered the “needs” of husband and wife by design within the marriage relationship. God created women with an unique need to be loved – enter husband to love his wife with his entire being. And God created man with an unique need to be respected – enter wife to respect him through heartfelt submission. And by submission, I do not mean “Dear husband, I will do whatever pleases you…I am your servant forever!” I think God meant, “Dear husband, I will respect and honor you as the man in my life. Love, Your Wife”. Submission isn’t about servanthood, it’s about honor and respect. And as long as the husband keeps loving and the wife keeps respecting, the unity is blessed and as intended. And when a husband and wife come together to meet each other’s unique needs, you have marriage as outlined by God. An unity where two people are one. I think the unity breaks down when love and respect stray from the relationship. In a way, the relationship doesn’t work without both elements. The marriage bond is weakened when the needs of husband and wife aren’t met. I really believe keys to a successful marriage all come down to love and respect. A wedding is supposed to celebrate the start of a marriage. The start of a journey. A treacherous journey that is both beautifully simple and challenging at the same time. So as my dear friend and her new husband set off on their journey, I continue to cover them in prayers. Prayers for a marriage built on relentless love and respect and that those two elements hold tight their bond of marriage. Weddings, marriage and a couple disclaimers, Ashley Lucille Most people can recall at least one or two bad travel experiences. Delayed flights, lost luggage, etc. I, on the other hand, would have a hard time narrowing down my bad travel experiences to just a handful of examples. To give you just a glimpse of what traveling is like for me, I have been stuck in a city I had no intention of staying overnight in 5 times in the last year. Just this past week, I had my luggage not make it to my final destination for the 4th time in my life. Anyone that knows me, accepts the fact I have some of the worst travel luck around. In fact, I have started praying for the passengers that are traveling with me at the start of flights I am on. I pray that we arrive 'somewhere' safely and everyone has patience for whatever obstacle we are getting ready to experience. My many travel issues have taught me several lessons I hope others can vicariously learn rather than have to experience on their own. Here's my top 12 Unlucky Travel Lessons:
And although all of these lessons have been important, these particular lesson haven't been nearly as important as the more valuable "life" lessons God has taught me through my many unfortunate travel experiences. The first lesson is one of control or lack thereof. Despite a Plan A, B, C, D or Z...God is in control and things will happen that you don't plan. In fact, things will happen that you didn't think were possible. How you react to the change in plans reflects who you are as a person. I have seen a grown man in tears, a woman throw a suitcase and people so angry on the flight that the Captain was waiting for them after they got off the plane. Having a calm manner and just taking bad experiences one moment at a time is the best way to get through it. And prayer. Lots of prayer. I have also learned patience. I have learned to relinquish "my timing" to "His timing". There will be delays. There will be disappointments. You have to keep perspective and realize His timing is absolute. We don't want things according to our timing because frankly we would miss out. When I get delayed or my flight gets stuck somewhere, I try to think of all the bad things that might have happened if the timing were different -- the "what ifs" that didn't happen. I have learned to be patient and just trust His timing. And finally, I have just recently learned perseverance. When the airline "misplaces" your luggage at a very inopportune time, you have to use your resources and do your best to pull something together in a short period of time. (Ever notice how luggage never seems to get lost on your return trip? It's always misplaced on the way "to" wherever you are going!) When you have a goal or something you want to accomplish and life gets tough, you have to push through it. Don't let the discouragement or a bump in the road, let you lose sight of the goal. James 1:2-4, 12 “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” Delayed flights, missed connections and lost luggage, Ashley Lucille Steinhatchee, Florida...Never heard of it? Neither had I until yesterday when my boyfriend had me drive to an address in the middle of nowhere. It's a small scalloping town tucked away on the West coast of Florida...a hideaway from the normal hustle and bustle of everyday life.
He made me promise not to Google the location of our surprise weekend and I kept my word. So I literally popped an address into my navigation and set off. Set off to the middle of nowhere. In my head we were going to end up at some great little bed and breakfast to relax for the weekend. However, as I drove through rundown town and rundown town, two things occurred to me: first, I am extremely blessed to have it so good in life. I worry about money all the time but at the end of the day, I am one blessed girl and I need to get over myself. The second thing that occurred to me, was we might actually not be going to a B&B. There was one point in my drive I feared we might end up in a rundown motel or trailer park (Now let me explain one thing...there are worse places than a motel or trailer park and I understand how spoiled this makes me sound. However, I am all about transparency. Even if being transparent reveals flaws. This is one of those moments when my honest opinion reveals how spoiled and at times ungrateful I am. Hang with me...and forgive me.). So as I continued my drive, I was now trying to condition my mind to accept a weekend in a motel. I kept telling myself, if you end up at a rundown motel you are going to have to pull it together and be happy because a wonderful man planned a relaxing weekend for you. I literally told myself, stop being a spoiled brat and be grateful. So I continued my drive to the motel. Except I didn't end up at a motel. I ended up at a great little spot that I would totally recommend to anyone looking for a quiet weekend getaway. Check it out: http://www.steinhatcheelanding.com/ This place is what the 'good old days' were made of. Today we rode bikes to buy fresh picked peaches. Stopped at a BBQ shack open only 4 days a week. Took a walk down to the water. There is close to nothing here and yet there is so much life. We've enjoyed great conversation, lots of laughs and overall soaked up quality time together. As I sat and enjoyed a book this afternoon I got to thinking about how I rarely stop to enjoy the things that matter in life. I am on the go all of the time. I work way too many hours each week, even when I try to cut back. I always have a 'to do' list. And I rarely stop to smell the roses. Too often I miss out on things I think God wants me to enjoy because I am busy all of the time. 1 Kings 19:11-12 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. Today has reminded me the value in unplugging the phone, ignoring the 'to do' list and being still in order to enjoy the things that matter in life. The small whispers that remind you God is here. Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God. Bike rides, peaches and relaxing weekends, Ashley Lucille Yesterday I went to brunch with 9 ladies at a country club-like establishment. We were all dressed alike with matching "bachelorette weekend" shirts and then shorts. Except for me. I wore a jean skirt. As the 9 of us sat down to dine at the buffet-style brunch, the hostess asked me to leave the dining room because I was not dressed "appropriately". She explained that my jean skirt was not hemmed and that was not permitted. I questioned the hostess because there were ladies dining in athletic shorts but she would not allow me to stay. So I was made to return to my room and change clothes in order to wrap up our celebratory weekend and enjoy brunch. It was rather humiliating. And I was furious.
For anyone that knows me...I don't believe I dress like a slob. I like to accessorize and usually am dressed more than appropriate. Never in a million years did I think wearing a non-hemmed skirt, while the entire crew was in an assortment of casual shorts, would result in me being kicked out of brunch. As I returned to brunch with the girls, I was so angry inside. I had several thoughts that crossed my mind but most of the thoughts resulted in one conclusion -- I would never associate with people that treated others like they were "less than" based on a pretentious standard. Then I realized...I do it all the time. And I bet you do it too. I love to accessorize and shop and dress up. And in my head I have a "standard" of what is and is not appropriate. And although I have never outwardly told someone they were not dressed appropriate...I have allowed pretentious thoughts and judgements to invade my mind. I have had thoughts like "didn't she look in a mirror before she left the house" or "that fashion trend does not look good on her/his body". I could go on but I would only further bring myself to shame and I am guessing you get my point without further embarrassment. So once again as I reflected on my circumstance and the horrible way it felt to be treated in such a manner, I was humbled to my knees in forgiveness. James 2:1-5 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? Life is tough. And yet we make it harder on each other by setting standards for one another that are superficial and meaningless. What does it matter if one lady dines in an unhemmed skirt while another dines in shorts? What does it matter if the girl walking in the mall has on an outfit that I don't find 'up to par'? In the big picture...it doesn't matter one single bit. It's a superficial standard that is not only meaningless but more times than not, just plain mean. Humiliated, humbled, and hem-less, Ashley Lucille In the last two weeks, I've read two articles featuring naked people that amazed me in a good way. And no...I'm not surfing porn sites for articles these days.
The first article was ESPN Magazine's Body Issue which just happened to feature a bunch of naked athletes. And although these photos were a bit on the racy side (and nude), I found them to be absolutely beautiful. ESPN Body Issue I didn't find as much beauty in the photos as I did the article. Each athlete is known to us for having some kind of strength, in part due to their incredible bodies. However, the article went into detail about how each athlete had an aspect of his/her body some might consider "undesirable". The basketball player showed off her big arms, big hands, etc. Another athlete highlighted her overall "density". The gymnast had to learn to embrace her overly muscular legs. The article embraced things society often considers to be imperfections and revealed that often things that might seem imperfect actually make us unique and give us ability. Although I'm fairly confident ESPN didn't intend to help highlight the beauty God created in each man and woman...that's exactly what the article did for me. When God created man and woman, he created us naked and without shame. Genesis 2:25 Adam and his wife were both naked and they felt no shame. I think the ESPN article represents some innocence, vulnerability and a raw beauty rarely captured. (Now please do not confuse the beauty I find in these examples with a promotion for nudity. God created us naked but being naked is not exactly acceptable these days. Just wanted to clarify...please don't go around flaunting your raw, naked beauty to the world.) The second article featuring naked people actually humbled me and quickly destroyed the beauty I found in the ESPN article. The article actually featured war veterans that were photographed in the same style as the ESPN photos. Athletic, strong...and naked (or almost naked). Amputee Veterans As I read through the articles and photos in the ESPN article, I admired the beauty in the body God created. As I read through the war veteran article, I was reminded that beauty is actually not defined by a body. Beauty is better defined by a soul. 1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him [Note: this is referring to God rejecting Saul - characterized by outward appearances!]. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." In our world we are so consumed with outward appearance. From clothes to style to physical deformities. We define "normal" based on appearances. However, God is blinded to what we look like. He doesn't care if we wear white after Labor Day or have chunky thighs or have only 1 arm because we fought a great battle. He looks at our heart. And our acceptance of our Savior, His one and only Son. His one concern is our soul...and yet our concern is rarely focused on the soul. So yes, I have been looking at naked magazine photos and articles. And yet these mainstream sources of entertainment, help remind me to focus on Jesus, my soul and the souls of those around me. Nudity, beauty and Jesus, Ashley Lucille |
Ashley LucilleJust a few reflections about everything God is teaching me in this life...a journey deeper into His purpose for my life. Categories |