Move that...there

Beauty: the adjustment of all parts proportionately so that one cannot add or subtract or change without impairing the harmony of the whole. 
(Leon Battista Alberti)

Is there anyone else out there that is constantly adjusting the parts? My sister has this tendency to put down a cup, plate, or even a napkin - then she returns to it repeatedly moving it a little here or there, never really just allowing it just to be 'okay'. Now, I just set the table and enjoy the meal - the position of the 'stuff' doesn't really matter all that much to me. I wonder how many of us go through life trying to 'adjust the parts', not really sure what is 'proportionately correct' in them? We are fine as long as none of the pieces seem to get lost, or someone upsets our apple cart. The moment we find the pieces falling apart, we panic! We adjust and readjust, sometimes in an attempt to get them all back in the 'regular order' we have established, and at others we are simply trying to hold onto whatever we can! Truth be told, some of the parts just need to go!

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. (I Peter 3:3-4)

The moment we try to replace the pieces, we might find our perfect plans just falling part - making it impossible to hold all of them in 'perfect alignment' to what we believe is the 'right order of things' in our lives. In terms of holding on let me offer this advice - God may be asking us to let go of those pieces because they are doing nothing to add beauty to our lives! They are not ever going to be 'proportionately adjusted' so as to not impair the 'perfect harmony' only he can provide in our lives. They need to go! While we are working so hard to 'adjust the parts', he is working exponentially harder to get us to just let go!

The inner beauty of our lives is where God works, making 'adjustments' that only serve to adorn us perfectly with evidence of his grace and love. We find ourselves forgetting what he is after 'within' us because we are so focused on keeping all the pieces aligned so nobody sees where the adjustments actually need to be made inside us! His desire is to affect our spirit - the desires created within us are to be directly impacted by his Spirit within us. Anytime we find God is 'upsetting the apple cart' of our lives, he isn't doing it out of meanness - he is arranging the parts, removing some that don't belong, and replacing them with the ones that will only adorn us with even greater beauty. Just sayin!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Steel in your convictions

Is that a wolf I hear?

Sentimental gush