My black eye--His beauty

                Christ alone,  Cornerstone
                Weak made strong,  in the Savior's love
                Through the storm,  He is Lord
                Lord of all.
     What a wonderful worship service we enjoyed yesterday at church!  One of those WOW days!  The words above are the chorus from one of the songs we sang.  It's a song by Hillsong called "Cornerstone."  Absolutely beautiful, with truth just pouring out of it.  And the sermon by our pastor, Leon Tucker, O my stars--wow, wow, wow!   Just one of those days you see God's glory splashed all over the place, and all you can do is humbly say, "Thank You, Father!"
     But for me, it sure didn't start out that way.  You see,  I tripped over a rolled up rug on saturday afternoon (so graceful) and broke my fall... with my face.  Never a great plan.  When I landed, I thought I had knocked out all my teeth.  Thankfully, I had not--though the jury's still out as to whether I may lose one of my big front teeth.  That would be a good look.
     However, it became apparent within about 5 minutes that I was going to be sporting a lovely black eye and fat lip for a while. Incidentally, I think some people pay good money for plastic surgeons to make their lips bigger.  Hmm, this has pretty much convinced me this would not be money well spent, as it doesn't look all that attractive... at least on me.  I've never been a big one for makeup, but now I really don't need to bother with it.  Who would notice a bit of mascara and blush amidst all this purple wreckage?
     The good news is that I got to attend the beautiful wedding of some of our dearest friends saturday night. Naturally I didn't feel at all self-conscious looking like a prize fighter who had just come out on the short end of the stick.  One of our good friends came up to me and simply said with mock seriousness, "Do you want me to talk to Richard [my husband] for you?"
     The even better news is that the black eye looked even worse for church the next morning than it did for the wedding.   geez.  I wish I had a better story to tell about how it happened--"I tripped over the rug" just sounds so lame.  Yeah, right.
     Okay, I know in the big scheme of things, this is so totally nothing.  Less than nothing.  But here's the thing, I was shocked to discover how self-conscious it made me.  I could tell strangers would walk by and do a subtle double take, and I admit, it made me feel... well, weird. I kept wanting to explain myself--"I promise, I haven't been in a fight..."   I'm ashamed to admit it, because, seriously, what does a little banged up face mean?  Zip.  Zero.  But still, it mattered enough to me that I was embarrassed... and then mortified that I was embarrassed!
      As we were singing worships songs at the beginning of church, it suddenly occurred to me that this was sin--this preoccupation with my scary appearance and what others thought of me.  We were singing,  "Fairest Lord Jesus," and I had to ask the Lord to forgive me. ("Fairest Lord Jesus"--proof positive, by the way, that the Lord has quite the sense of humor.)  It is His beauty that I am to be focusing upon, not mine (or actually, the lack thereof!).  He is the "fairest" one, and He is the One who is our satisfaction and joy and hope and peace.  What does it matter what others think of us--if the Almighty loves us, what need we to worry about or fear?  Whose applause, after all, are we really seeking ... man's or God's?
     Back to the song I first mentioned.  The words in the first verse are:
          My hope is built on nothing less
          Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
          I dare not trust the sweetest frame
          But wholly trust in Jesus' name.
     Yep, Lord, forgive me for so often trusting and placing my hope in the completely wrong things--from appearance to achievements to man's approval.  Our hope and joy is in Christ alone--our Cornerstone.  He makes the weak strong.  He is the Lord of all--through sun and storm and everything in between.
      So a little black eye and a fat lip have now become a reminder to me of the unfading beauty, grace, and glory of my Savior.  He is eternally good, and I am eternally grateful.  And if you run into me anytime soon, it's okay if you laugh.... I just hope it's a reminder to you--Christ alone, our Cornerstone.
     To God, our Cornerstone, our Lord and our fairest Lord Jesus, be all the glory.