Beauty In the Ugly? Excuse Me?

When you hear the word ugly, you cringe or probably turn your nose up. How judgmental! Haha, I'm kidding. Naturally as humans, it's just something we do as individuals. "Beauty In the Ugly" can come off as an oxymoron-ic title. Let's scratch the surface a bit by defining the key words:

ug·ly /ˈəɡlē/ - (in terms of visuals) unpleasant or repulsive, especially in appearance.

(in terms of situation or mood) involving or likely to involve violence or other unpleasantness.

beau·ty / ˈbyo͞odē/ - a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.

Now that those definitions are on paper, lets put some things into perspective here. We all know by now that beauty and it's standards varies by person. Lets consider the famous adage, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." This is true! Due to a persons personal perspective, the amount of beauty that's appreciated or viewed varies.

In situations we face, the same goes. Now imagine the ugliest situations---to society and maybe even yourself---you find beauty in it, beauty rises from it. As I've said before, beauty varies depending on each individual's perspective. Imagine your perspective through the prince of peace Himself! Starting this August, you'll see women and men--including myself--share how through God, they/we found beauty in our ugly and disheartening situations.

Once you change your mind, you'll change your life.

"You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."

Isaiah 26:3