Primarily Beautiful
“Nature is not primarily functional. It is primarily beautiful. Stop for a moment and let that sink in. We’re so used to evaluating everything (and everyone) by their usefulness that this thought will take a minute or two to begin to dawn on us. Nature is not primarily functional. It is primarily beautiful.” (John and Stasi Eldredge, Captivating)
Well, that statement took me aback. It lingered in the back
of my mind all morning, through church and lunch and finishing my lesson plans
and even percolated a while back there during a short catnap. I finally put the
dog on a leash and went out to talk to God about it in the expansive plot of nature
behind my house.
Take these trees, for instance – these lovely trees that I
walk through with the mutt almost every day. Yes, they are beautiful. But they
also take the carbon monoxide we expel and convert it into oxygen we require
for living. They serve a critical function on our planet. Thus, the whole Save
the Rainforests Movement.
On the other hand, isn’t there beauty to be found even in their
functionality? My science teacher colleagues would contend so – this is why
they speak of these things with such enthusiasm, and usually why they teach
science in the first place. The elegance of the workings of creation captivates them. I have math teacher colleagues who feel the same way about numbers: the
symmetry of a well-balanced equation sets their hearts all aflutter.
I’m afraid I can’t relate to that one. I’m not a numbers
person; I’m a word person . . . and an image person. And as I turn the corner
of my trail and shuffle down a slope into a ravine, the images I see are testifying to these truths God is working into my heart today. We need clouds – they have an essential job. But
God didn’t HAVE to make them light and fluffy and imaginative. He CHOSE to
make them so lovely because he desires and values the loveliness. Same with the
blue sky. And the songs of the birds. And . . . and . . .
Backing up for a moment: Last week, my daughter got me to
take the Clifton Strengthsfinder test online, and I discovered one of my top
five strengths is “Achiever”. The website describes it like this: “By the end
of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about
yourself.” Before I even took the test, Eastin said when she read that, she immediately
thought, That is MOM. Touché. Maybe so.
I’m a doer. Actually, I’m even more of a thinker, but when my thinking stops
me from getting things done, I feel guilty. I unfortunately get a lot of my
sense of self-worth from what I am able to accomplish in a day – the meaningful
and worthwhile stuff, but also the banal and routine. What good am I if I don’t
do good work? That's what I'm here for, after all. In my mind, I am primarily functional.
. . . And now I return to my tree-shaded walk where God
steps into my musings and dares to contradict that basic premise about myself. “Oh, no, my dear. Yes, you
have purpose. Yes, I have important tasks for you to do. Yes, I am pleased when
you are accomplishing kingdom work for me.
“But you are not primarily functional. In my eyes, you are
primarily beautiful.”
Ohhhh . . . sweet Jesus. Thank you. You know how much a
woman needs to hear such things.
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