Beauty

I've now been back in the states for just under 8 months. Wow, that's shocking to say out loud. It feels like yesterday, yet it feels like a million years ago. As the new team is preparing for their new adventure, I've started to reflect more on my time in Bulembu and the mark that it left on my heart. Lately I've been contemplating the idea of beauty and what it really means. In America and other first world countries we see beauty as very skin deep. We judge how attractive other people are for fun and entertainment. We are failures if we are not tan enough, skinny enough, fashionable enough, etc. We focus on the exterior as a basis for true beauty. This just doesn't sit well with me. Something seems so very wrong.
When I was in Africa, my beauty radar was constantly going off. Everywhere I looked I saw beauty - in nature, in people's eyes and faces, in interactions. I felt as though I was full of enough beauty to last a lifetime. Let me give you an example. This is my Auntie (with Donna).

 In my eyes and heart, she is one of the most beautiful women I have ever met and will ever meet in my entire life. She saw the "light of Christ" in Alicia and I and loved being able to share her story with others. She took an interest in me and loved me without any prerequisites. She called me beautiful everyday and talked passionately about how beautiful our Savior is to her. Every wrinkle in her face tells a story. Some tell of hardships and heartbreak, like her struggle with diabetes, and others tell of joys and triumphs, like the births of her children and her good health. Material things do not matter to her.
I've personally always been a fan of scars and wrinkles. For me, each of them tells a story. I still have scars from when I was learning to ride my bike with my brothers or from climbing trees when I was younger. They're tangible ways to remember experiences. I'm always shocked at our society's longing to get ride of wrinkles. For me, wrinkles mean you enjoyed life by being outside and that you laughed so much that lines formed. Why would you ever want to forget laughing? I will never forget how my Auntie's face looked when she smiled. Her entire face lit up - wrinkles and all. There was no stiffness from botox; it was pure, unadulterated joy seeping out from every pore of her being. It was, in a word, beautiful.
I could give another example of the beauty of nature in Swaziland, but if you've ever read my blog before or seen my facebook pictures, you've seen evidence of it for yourself. It is one of the most beautiful places in the world. One of my favorite memories was waking up for the sunrise on the morning we left Bulembu. We hiked up to a vantage point and sat in awe as the sun rose over the mountains. We listened to the sounds of babboons rustling in the trees as we sang worship songs and praised our Creator for his beautiful creation. I remember thanking God for the town that opened it's doors to us and the people who opened their arms and hearts. It was a beautiful moment both aesthetically and emotionally.
The final example I'll give is of one of our children. The funny part about writing this part is that I didn't even think twice about which child I would use to explain my thoughts on beauty. All of the children are beyond beautiful, but this little girl exudes my point the best.

This little girl...oh, if you only knew her. She barely spoke when we got there. She didn't really interact with any of us for quite some time. She was shy and her smiles were far and few between. That is, until she got to know us and trust us. She bonded most with Alicia and her smiles became so frequent that I can't think of a time when she wasn't smiling or happy in the last 2 weeks we were there. Her beauty was revealed through her smile, her goofiness, her words, and her actions. She loved to be loved. She loved to hold your hand and know that she had your attention. One of my personal favorite pictures from the our house is this one of her and Alicia:

I know that you can't see her face, but observe her body language. She is completely relaxed and in the middle of something funny. This for me, shows the epitome of someone who is so guarded letting someone in. She let us in and through doing that made herself at home in our hearts. She was beautiful.

In the book, Captivating, the authors state that beauty: speaks, invites, nourishes, comforts, inspires and is transcendent. The people of Bulembu and the country of Swaziland are all of these things. My Auntie spoke into my life. She comforted me when I was down and inspired me when I needed inspiration. The scenery was transcendent. It was more amazing than anything I had ever seen. This little girl invited Alicia and I into her life and her heart and that gave nourishment to my soul. Each child and person that I met there was beautiful, inside and out. They each taught me something new about myself, the world, and God and His love for His children. They also taught me something that will stick with me forever...life is beautiful.