Beauty in exile or Triage in service

Delighted by a set of beautiful pictures that a friend sent today of their beach vacation got me dwelling on beauty. Not only are her healthy children beautiful, but she is beautiful. Physically. Well kept, and well put together. In a flash I had thoughts that here I try to unravel. (Writing gets harder for me these busy days. Busy with what? Chores. Chores in my life for the kingdom. Busyness that keeps me not only from noticing and appreciating beauty, but even from making it sometimes, especially regarding myself.)

Peter had some gifts to send to his favorite little kids. It was thoughtful of him to spend his wooden nickels from the orthodontist's office on them and not on himself. He could have put the two items in a used Amazon shipping box. But, thinking that the children might have the fun of unwrapping their own gifts, we decided it would be more thoughtful to wrap each item separately before putting them in the shipping box. Looking into our stash of bags, papers, ribbons and bows we found a small jewelry box perfect for holding the gift card he'd selected for the girl, and we found the little boy's favorite color tissue paper for wrapping his gift. I was delighted to find matching colors among our hodge podge collection of wrapping materials, some of them previously used. As we wrapped the packages, I remembered how nice it is to receive beautifully wrapped things; how delightful to receive well-made cards; how I have enjoyed doing such things for others. Beauty speaks of care and reflects our Creator who delights to give us good gifts, including beauty.

Yet, it is important not to make an idol of beauty, and in these temporal lives of ours, triage often dictates that we have to let some things go. What am I so busy about that can't take time for beauty? Does God need my service here and there so much that I am missing the delight He meant for me in living? I wondered about that in a flash of insight. This life, this earth, is our momentary place of exile. It is our battleground. It is our place of cross-carrying. (How kind for God to give us the glimpses of glory here and now.) But He also commanded us exiles to plant vineyards and marry off our children in this land of exile. I delight in the beauty of order and the beauty of holiness and the beauty of service. And to give a gift is more important than to have it wrapped beautifully.