He makes everything beautiful

The kids and I went to a craft market last week looking for some hanging spears. It’s a bustling place where hardworking men and women sell their wares, hoping to make enough money to support their family for another day or week.

We’d nearly finished looking round all the stalls when I went past one that stood out from the others—not because of the stallholders amazing items for sale, or a clever display of goods. The first thing that got my attention was the lack of goods laid out on her taupalin – maybe a dozen items sparsely spread out, compared to the other stalls that had goods jammed close together to fit in their allocated space. As I got closer I noticed that the quality of the goods wasn’t just poor; most of them were dirty, ripped or otherwise damaged. Then the look on the womans face hit me – tired and worn, facial lines giving her an appearance that defied her true age. She wasn’t calling out for me to come buy her goods like most of the others do and it was a welcome relief not to have to make an excuse for not wanting to stop. I began to feel embarrassed for her, and as we started to pass on to the next stall where colourful well made crafts beckoned, I felt for her knowing that most people would quickly pass by her stall trying not to make eye contact with her in case she called them to stop.

And then, Lily. The one God gave me as a gentle reminder to look through His eyes, through the eyes of the one who created us. whose name means ‘pure grace’. I felt a tug on my hand as I was approaching the well displayed colourful stall. “Mummy, it’s all so beautiful”. As I turned to see what had caught her eye, I found her gazing at this stall with the few damaged and dirty items. I glanced at the mamas face and saw her countenance begin to change as Lily continued pointing out beauty in the items she was selling. I was feeling more and more like the Levite or Priest quickly passing by the injured man on the side of the road while Lily was being Jesus to this sweet mama. Lily chose a special purse to buy (that cleaned up nicely!) and we spent time talking and starting to get to know this one that Jesus gave his life for. How easy it is to read the story of the good Samaritan and think we’d be the one that would stop, when most of the time we just walk on by – we’re faced with someones need at an inconvient time, we think someone else will talk to them, they’re not our ‘type’ or it’s just going to be too hard. Yet Jesus is waiting for us to see them through His eyes, to see underneath the dirt, beyond the damage and recognize the beauty of one made in his image, and then simply love.

Lily with her new purse