Embracing Beauty Blog

Have you ever felt compelled to do something but didn’t know what to do or where to start? That was me in 2016. I felt an overwhelming desire to start a business, something I knew God had called me to do but I didn’t know how to do it. I saw everything in my mind so clearly and in my naive way of thinking I absolutely thought that, “if I built it, they would come.”  I researched a few things and did everything I thought I was supposed to do, including emptying my savings 😬. I was excited! Long story short, it bombed. I counted it at the time as a complete and utter failure. “I’m done with this!” is what I would rehearse to myself but that nagging feeling and vision of a thriving business wouldn’t go away. It frustrated me. How dare God put this on my heart and show me this but not let it work? Silly, right? I know.    In my mind I was a failure. I had failed. Not the business, but me. Why was I willing to be so hard on myself with something that was beyond my control? That question opened my eyes to the years of personal abuse I attached to myself when anything in my life didn’t go right or as planned. It also opened doors to events in my life I had buried. I realized that I was about to journey into everything in my life I wanted to forget. The past two years of my life were hard. I had to face things I didn’t want to face but how could I be used without first being broken? I needed to understand why I was the way I was or why I acted the way I acted and as eye opening as it was it was also devastating for me mentally and emotionally. That decline affected me spiritually. Giving up seemed like the only pathway to peace but I knew I couldn’t. “Keep going...even if you have to crawl,” is what I’d tell myself. The path to get here was paved with a lot of tears, a little prayer and clinically diagnosed depression and anxiety pills.    Understand this, failing in any area can actually be the drive you need for a complete life or mindset makeover but only if you don’t give up. Wait awhile and when the opportunity again presents itself fight fear with faith and try again. 💋                                                 

Once a dear friend of mine and I were discussing the issues of God’s perfect will and His permissive will. We all know as believers that many of us we are programmed to say, “God not my will but yours be done”, and that is good but is it truly what we want? My friend asked what the difference is between the two wills and if God honors the permissive actions. I believe that God does honor our motives and our intentions but when having this discussion the thought of the Oscars came to my mind. How often do we hear of famous celebrities or big-time movie stars being approached by famous designers, for big events such as the Oscars or other awards programs, expressing desire to create a completely original dress or suit specifically and uniquely for him or her? This is referred to as a designer original. The dress or suit is made to fit the exact measurements of the person’s body. The color is usually extremely complimentary or in the star’s favorite color. It is something created in the mind of the designer specifically for one person. No one else is the inspiration for this piece. It is just for the person that the designer wishes to dress. If a designer does not seek out a celebrity to design for then boutiques will offer to loan dresses and jewels to the stars for them to wear. These dresses and suits give honor and representation to the designer but not quite like the designer original. When thinking about God’s will for our lives, we have two options. We can listen and choose the designer original; the destiny that he has formed and created just for us. No one else was on his mind when he planned our futures. It is made to fit our exact measurements emotionally, physically, socially, spiritually, and personally. It is just for us. There are also things, like the dresses on loan, that God will allow us to have and they are beautiful and they are good but not ours, exclusively. These things too will be honored but they do not demonstrate the intricacy and specialization that the one made specifically for you does. I heard a song once that, “life is woven day by day into a new design of the glory God displays, on the canvas of creation through the poem of history in a pattern of redemption flowing through the tapestry; your life in Christ can be the greatest story ever told”. Isn’t it amazing to know that in the grand scheme of things God cares enough to take the time to form and create a life, a ministry, a marriage, a calling, a friendship, a job, a family, etc., all just for you? Listen for God’s voice and allow yourself the opportunity to experience and see yourself as a DESIGNER ORIGINAL with a unique destiny designed by God’s hand. Guest post by Tiffany Anderson Instagram: @epiphaniestna