Looking for Lovely

Ok, so I hope this post doesn't sound too much like a book review but I have to tell y'all how much I am LOVING the book I’m reading. Before I reveal the book I just want to express how much this book has made me reflect on the little things in life. How it has made me want to connect more with God and people. Every time I read it I feel like I’m at home and comfortable. Is that weird? Am I reading into this too much? Well if I am I don't care because that’s how much I love it! 

Now that I have rambled, the book I am reading is called “Looking for Lovely” by Annie Downs. (Annie also has a podcast called “That Sounds Fun” and it’s amazing and you should go listen) I’m not done with the book yet I think I have like three more chapters and just thinking of finishing it makes me sad. In this book Annie talks about different stories from her life and how God revealed to her the lovely in every experience. 

She talks about sweet and sappy things like getting your nails done, discovering the goodness of sushi, and going to see musicals. She also talks about heavier things like body image issues, healing from past hurt, and heartbreak. But in every chapter, happy or sad, she talks about how God revealed the lovely parts in ALL of it. 

  As I’ve read this book it has seriously opened my eyes to looking for the lovely in my life. A lot of times I go through my days not wanting to think too deeply, or feel too much because I just want to basically feel numb to any emotion.

 A thing that scares me is I don’t (rarely) do this intentionally. I catch myself doing it and that’s when I have to go to the Lord and dig deep and see what’s really going on. I might sound sappy or too emotional but just think, do you have time in your day to have an original thought? We let our days fly by going from one thing to the next and by the end we lay down and fall asleep and just repeat the vicious cycle. 

When are we going to put down the phone, cancel the thing we have to do, wake up a little earlier and just bask in the beauty around us. God intentionally puts lovely things in our path. He’s a God of beauty and order, not of chaos. 

I got a pedicure today (because my toe nails were as long and as sharp as nails and it was starting to get freaky) and as I sat there trying not to laugh from the dead skin grater rubbing my feet I thanked God for the lady who was brave enough to have her hands on my toes. I thanked Him for the gift of living in a small town because I knew everyone in the salon and got to hug all of them. I thanked Him for the beautiful relationship between a mother and her teenage daughter as they sat next to me and laughed together the entire time. 

There is lovely all around us. I challenge you to go into each day recognizing the lovely around you and thanking God for being the beautiful Father He is. 

As Annie says, collect the moments that matter. Whether life is light or dark right now, dig deep in your soul and and ask God to unveil the lovely that He has crafted you with. 

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11