Sunday Afternoon Tea - God understands our need for Beauty

A little over a week ago, I found myself in town when the clock turned 5:00 and the evening rush hour traffic was in full force.  It had been a long day of running errands and I very tired.  I decided, however, to take the long route home.  While it may have taken more time than when I drive through forested areas, this route lets me leave the traffic sooner and I got to drive past the fields that were planted in spring.

With all the craziness in the world today, I have been going out of my way to look for those things which lead me to True North.  Whether seasonal beauty in nature or tweaking the beauty in my home, I am in desperate need of visual beauty and I find Midwestern crops growing in the fields quite lovely.

In this case, I was also curious to see if the corn was indeed "knee high by the 4th of July".  For if it was, then all was well with the agricultural world on my little bit of earth.  I was happy to see that the soybean fields were lush from all the rain and humidity and the corn was indeed... well over knee high.  Just as it has been every good growing season that I can remember.

Of course, I must insert here for the farmers who read this blog that these fields are growing feed corn and it does not mature until the Fall.  I always look forward to seeing feed corn drying in the fields in October, turning that color which crayons would call maize. We do, however, purchase sweet corn each year from a local farmer and that corn is a newer hybrid that is harvested in July.

I normally would have taken the long route home a few times by now but this has been a very hot, humid, and rainy summer so I admit to spending more time looking out of the windows of our house than actually enjoying scenery in the midst of nature.  For that, I live vicariously through my friend, Heather's, Instagram account.  

There were many lessons learned through the COVID experience but one was a reminder of how much I needed a calm sense of beauty in my house.  It is only a short time each year that I can view red geraniums, coleus, lemon thyme, sage, basil, mint, oregano, and other flowers and herbs through the windows or while washing dinner dishes. 

I need to have objects around me that make my heart sing and while many are used regularly, there are those that were invited to the party only because they make me smile as I pass by them.  Like the cow print that hangs in the kitchen which my daughter bought for my birthday.  I love cows.  She told me about receiving an Instagram message on her phone saying that Brenda has sent her a photo of a cow and her first thought was, "The story of my life".  :)

As one grows older, we tend to accumulate more stuff just because we like to hang on to things through the years.  However, like so many people, we decided to do a lot of decluttering during the COVID lock-down and quite a lot was sent to charity for someone else to appreciate.

I still have a lot of stuff but everything is there now because it means something.  I do also still tweak the shelves and decorations and by doing that, will send something to charity for another to enjoy receiving at an inexpensive price.  A few weeks ago, I decided to get rid of a small vintage casserole dish I didn't use (I do use the larger casserole), creating space to display the two sets of vintage Pyrex bowls, purchased as orphan bowls very cheap.

All the bowls get used eventually and they make me smile when I am using them.  My earliest days of dreaming of homemaking was in the 1960s and I remember thinking the kitchens were so beautiful back then.  Both the "modern" 1960s kitchens and the kitchens of older women I visited, which were 1930s-1950s cozy. It's amusing that the once modern 1960s/1970s accessories are considered vintage.

While my kitchen is the most vintage filled room in the house, the other rooms display some collections which were accumulated over the years for pennies on the dollar while thrifting.  I'd rather to go to a thrift store, Goodwill, or the antique mall than to shop at Kohls or Macys.

When I had to go to Sam's Club recently, I stopped at my favorite antique mall to enjoy walking the aisles and to look for two very small cranberry glass goblets that were only a few dollars each.  I had seen them when my daughter was in town but it wasn't until I was later looking at the shelves on the hutch that I realized those two little cranberry goblets would have added a perfect accent of color there.  Thankfully, they were still available and yes... they make my heart sing and for a very small price. 

Now, I fully understand that things cannot replace filling our hearts with God's Word and listening to inspiring music.  They have their own place in our lives and in our homes.  As do very good books and quality entertainment.  I don't walk in peace if I have not spent time in His Word and talked to Him throughout the day (hopefully getting quiet enough to listen).

However, if we spend a lot of time in our homes, then we must look at them no differently than when we plant flowers in our gardens.  We need to think about what fills our hearts with joy that we look at each day.  I always pray before I go to Goodwill, a thrift store, furniture shopping, even shopping for a bouquet of flowers at the grocery store.  I ask God to lead me to that which I will find beautiful and that is within my budget.

He cares so much about our surroundings that one of the important things He told the disciples before leaving was that He was going to prepare a place for them (and them includes us).  Jesus is the contractor for our Heavenly homes!  I'm pretty certain He also cares about where we live now, for God is our Creator and He knows how surroundings can affect us.

The world is changing faster than I ever thought possible in my lifetime.  We must find those aspects of our life that will ground us as the hurricane force winds of adversity surround the nations in general and our little part of the world in particular.  

We must hold on to the True North of God's Word.  I am so thankful for the sound teaching I received as a young Christian where I was introduced to teachers like Francis Schaeffer and Edith, who was my homemaking mentor through her books. My early in-person teachers made certain that I would know whose books held sound Biblical doctrine, even if there were minor denominational differences.

My husband's family remained in the denomination he was raised in and their theology became very different than what it was when he was a child. He often told me how much he noticed the change in the teaching when we would visit his hometown.  He was thankful for the excellent teaching he received while in college and grad school from Campus Crusade for Christ and The Navigators.

I also find it easier to hold on to True North when listening to favorite Christian music although, yes, I do also like other genre. But most of the time our car radio is set to K-Love, unless I notice it is time for Alistair Begg's radio program on Moody Radio.  There is something about good theology with a Scottish accent.  ;)

However, it really does help to have Beauty in the home for we were created to appreciate what is lovely.  We have to give ourselves permission to invite the Beauty to be part of our life, whether it is an art print that makes us smile, a lovely mug for our morning coffee, purchasing a beautiful calendar to enjoy as each new month arrives each year, or simply adding a bouquet of pretty flowers to the grocery cart.

Don't let the enemy of your souls make you feel guilty because you need beauty.  He was once considered God's most beautiful creation, the loveliest of them all... and he will never get that back.  So, I'm kinda' thinking that is why he either perverts our need for beauty by causing us to fall into sin or greed or envy or some other kind of dreadful emotion... or, his minions whisper in our ears that our God given desire for beauty is wrong.

That is why we need to know God's Word, for throughout the sixty-six books of the Bible, God pronounces His love of Beauty throughout the chapters.  His final promise to us in the last chapter of the Book of Revelation is a picture of the Beauty that awaits.  

All of our longing for that which is beautiful will not be truly met until that day when all is made new again.  I am looking forward to it!

Mentioned in this Blog Post

Heather's Instagram Account (thenaturejournaler)... here.  She also has the best art journaling classes!

Note:  Yes, this was published on Monday.  Sigh...