"Looking for Lovely"

“God spoke: ‘Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, and, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.’ God created human beings; he created them godlike, reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them; ‘Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.’ Then God said, ‘I’ve given you every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth and every kind of fruit-bearing tree, given them to you for food. To all animals and all birds, everything that moves and breathes, I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.’ And there it was. God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good!” Genesis 1:26-31, MSG

We’ve turned the last page of “Looking for Lovely,” and I believe it’s the perfect time to turn back to the first pages of the book of Genesis. In the very beginning, God created the Earth and all that is in it. The description of it sounds lovely.

Then, He made man and woman out of His loveliness and charged them with creating even more lovely. I know it wasn’t worded exactly that way, but didn’t you hear the mandate God gave to Adam and Eve?

At the end of the very first book of the Bible, God essentially told the first humans to look for and to create lovely. By chapter 3, they’d forgotten their purpose. They forgot they were representations of the Godhead, made to flourish and cause other things to flourish. All of creation fell into brokenness because of their choices in Genesis 3, and the Old Testament is filled with stories marked by bondage rather than freedom, brokenness rather than flourishing, and sadness rather than lovely.

Because of their choice, Adam and Eve forfeited life in the perfection of the Garden. However, because of their choices, they also got to experience the goodness of God’s grace. He met with them, He covered them, and He set on their way to live with the awareness of His presence in their lives. Honestly, I can’t think of anything more lovely than that.

One day, it will be amazing to experience the perfection of heaven like Adam and Eve experienced in the Garden. Until then, though, we can experience the beauty of redemption, grace, and mercy. We get to see lovely in the human experience when we choose to enter in fully.

My prayer for all of us at the end of this book is that we will open our eyes wide and let God show us the beauty we were created for. We were each made in God’s image. We are image bearers of mighty God. Our humanity gets in the way of perfection, but it can lead us right to lovely. We were made to flourish, girls. So, let’s just do it.

“Yahweh, you alone are my inheritance. You are my prize, my pleasure, and my portion. You hold my destiny and its timing in your hands. Your pleasant path leads me to pleasant places. I’m overwhelmed by privileges that come with following you!” Psalm 16:5-6, TPT

When do you feel most alive? How do you know when you are flourishing? When is the last time you followed God right into a lovely, pleasant place? Write out a prayer telling God all about it. Then, commit to follow Him there. Rest in the reality that He holds your lovely future and its timing in His hands.

Amen.