Authentic Beauty: Chapter Three

Here is the third chapter, "in a nutshell," to the book, Authentic Beauty:

Chapter Three

Beautiful Reflection

Stop trying to fit Me into your life; instead, build you life around Me."

                                                                            -God

We each have a dream-something we build our lives around, something that gives us a spark of energy in our day-to-day existence. If our dream is ballet, we envision ourselves on stage elegantly dancing like a radiant cherub before an awe-inspired crowd. If our dream is singing, we see in our mind's eye a throng on their feet cheering as we belt out a powerful melody. Some of us dream simply while others of us dream with Technicolor ambition. But we all dream,. It is our dreams that define our lives. It is our dreams that define the way we spend our time.

A set-apart young woman dreams differently than the rest of her female contemporaries. Instead of dreaming dreams that bring her to center stage in society's spotlight, she begins to dream God's dreams for her life. And God's dreams cause her to seek her Prince above all else, prior to all else, and at the risk of all else. She becomes fantastically preoccupied with her gallant Jesus.

To be a great ballet dancer demands time, and a lot of it. To develop an angelic singing voice takes countless hours of intensive training. To be great at anything demands great amounts of time. To be great at knowing our Prince is no different. It takes time-and lots of it. It demands that every last drop of our physical energy be focused on Him. He can't be conveniently fit into our lives; He must become what our lifestyles are built around. From the moment we wake up until the moment we go to sleep, He must become the center. And when He does, we quickly realize that God's dreams unlock the beauty of life itself.