Pretty Scales

Enthrall: verb. to hold spellbound;captivate. Absorb, charm, hook, intrigue, mesmerize....

What enthralls us? What holds us spellbound, captivated? Intrigues our attention, mesmerizes our thoughts as to drown out all else around? Adam and I were watching an old Andy Griffith show the other night and they used that word to describe the beauty of a tropical island, surrounded by turquoise

waters and studded with swaying palm trees. One of the characters dropped all he knew and flew there to live an easy, carefree life with no deadlines, alarm clocks or mundane tasks. Just stare at the ocean and swing on a hammock...for that's all you need in life. Unfortunately his stay was short-lived, after seeing the crusty, unfulfilled effects of prolonged island life on the other inhabitants, he hopped aboard the first plane back home. So maybe he took it a little overboard, but God's creation does enthrall us. That's what it's meant to do! When I look at the mountains, I see God's glory, not an end result of millions of years. The stars pour out speech of His infinite power. The seas, and all the life within, flow of his faithfulness and all sustaining power. I stand enthralled at His beauty.

With that in mind, I came across a scripture passage that spoke loudly to me. Ps.45:11 NIV says, "The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your Lord." I am beautiful to my King! He created me by design and on purpose and He looked at me and called me "good". I am precious and honored by Him. No matter what the outside appearance reveals, I am laid bare before him and beautiful. I am His child, a daughter of the King; He is my Savior. Commercials advertise "age-defying" moisturizer, and wrinkle covering make-up, fashion minded shirts and pants to cover the imperfections of our figure. Underneath all that still lies who we are as a person. Nothing can cover up or embellish who Julie Steck is. God sees past it all, into our hearts. Like the woman at the well, caught in sin. Jesus saw her beauty as one of His daughters and extended His love and grace to her, telling her to drink from Him, the source of Living Water. He explained to her how those who drink the water from the well they were sitting at would be thirsty again. However, those who drink the water He supplies will be fully satisfied and never thirsty. (John 4) Now before we all let the well run dry, consider the spiritual meaning of those words.

My sweet daughter, Mackenzie used to tell me, "Mommy, you're pretty in scales." Which she picked up from Adam telling me I was covering up all my pretty with make-up. She jumped on his train of thought and scales was as bare-boned as she could think of, so coined that phrase. While I kinda like the sprucing up make-up and fixed hair add, I do appreciate the reminder that it's not about the outward appearance, it's about the heart. Under it all are just scales...and they are beautiful to my Maker.