Eve.

Thank God He hasn't given up on restoring us back to His original beautiful creation.

Eve was the most beautiful woman ever created.

She was the crescendo of God's creation and when He was finished creating, He looked and said, "Now this is Good."

Then sin entered the world when satan deceived Eve.

Sin clouded Eve's beauty but her original beauty was still beneath the clouds.

The beauty of women is the same today.

Underneath our masks, facades, struggles and trials, we are beautiful.

Think of 5 things you see are beautiful.

Yellow polka dot coffee mug.

Baby Monster swimsuit.

Birds.

Vintage brooch.

Ring.

The things we see are beautiful are actually a reflection of the original beauty God designed in each of us.

The yellow mug reflects my love for coffee and the treasured time I spend with girlfriends. The monster swimsuit makes me smile and reflects my beauty of being a mom. The birds reflects my enjoyment of nature and watching birds fly free, and discovering new life in a nest of eggs. The vintage brooch reflects my fascination with old things and the old stories behind the item. The ring reflects my role as a wife and the waiting until our wedding day to see it for the first time. There's beauty in who God created us women to be and what we are to reflect.

Scripture says "man was made in the image of God and is to reflect the glory of God, and woman is to reflect man's glory." 1 Corinthians 11:7-12

"A worthy wife is a crown to her husband, but a disgraceful woman is cancer in his bones" Proverbs 12:4

If we were striving to discover our original beauty like Eve before sin entered the world and pursuing what it looks like to be a wife in its purest, most beautiful form-- what would that look like today?

How would it look to be the crown to our husband?

All sin, pride and mess aside, I believe being the crown to our husband is serving him without the expectation of getting anything in return.

But I am a work in progress, a marriage in the making and have a lot to learn in time.

There's something so beautiful about struggling in a marriage and over time growing closer together, and digging deeper roots. The beauty is IN the struggle. Satan can try to deceive and steer us away from God's original design, but if we continue to struggle then God WILL conquer all in the end. We have to continue battling against sin and pride on a daily basis so God can wipe away the clouds and restore us back to His original design.

Thank God He hasn't given up on restoring us back to His original beautiful creation.

(Doesn't this yellow mug just make you want to smile and anticipate the delicious aroma of coffee?) 

. . .sending Love to my Purple Ladies Bible study, I treasure learning and
growing with you.

You enrich my life with the beauty you reflect.