You make me new.

“I lean not on my own understanding, my life is in the hands of the maker of heaven. I give it all to you God, trusting that you’ll make something beautiful out of me. I will climb this mountain with my hands wide open. There’s nothing I hold on to.”
 
This past week the Lord has been revealing His beauty to me in a way I have never experienced. In seeing His beauty, He has allowed me to see beauty in myself. I read the book, “Captivating” this week; it brought me so much healing as well as gave me new eyes to see beauty in the world around me, people around me, and in myself.
            The last day we were in Antigua, nine of us hiked volcano Pacaya in Guatemala City. We drove through beautiful mountains for an hour or so to get there (seeing so much beauty before we even started the hike), and then began our three-hour hike up the volcano. The word that repeatedly came to my mind over the hike was beautiful. Creation is so beautiful. The crazy part is that creation is only a reflection of the beauty of God. He is even more beautiful than that, that thought blows my mind. But what really blew my mind though was the realization that we, as humans, are also a reflection of the Lord’s beauty. He made us in His image. Therefore, we are beautiful. As we got to the top of the volcano I was reflecting on this thought when my friend next to me said, “This is exactly like that song we sing, about climbing a mountain with our hands wide open, there’s nothing we hold on to!” It was so true; we were literally climbing a volcano with nothing to hold on too. (And actually not much we could see because it was so foggy.) But I couldn’t help but think of what an amazing image it was of our own lives. As Christians we are continually climbing, striving to discover new heights of the Lord’s beauty. In the process of seeking His beauty, He makes us beautiful. He refines us to reflect Him more completely as we reach new heights in Him. As we get higher on our climb. As I am slowly discovering the indescribable beauty of the Lord, He is unveiling my own beauty to me, my beauty in Him. This realization has already begun to change my thoughts and perceptions not only concerning this trip but life in general. It has also really encouraged me about the weeks to come and what else God has in store to reveal to me.