Beauty In the Eyes of the Beholder

I’ve been participating in a blogging challenge for February that’s called #Write28DaysChallenge where there is a word prompt for each day of the month. So far, I’ve been terrible in this challenge but still, I’m enjoying it when I can sit down and write something.

The word prompt for today is “beautiful.”

This word conjures up all sorts of images relating to nature and the wondrous works man has produced – namely art and literature.

Once upon a time, I was able to see these quite clearly. Now, my sight is failing, and the inability to behold all the beauty with my eyes has been very frustrating and discouraging.

It is amazing how reliant we truly are on certain senses, especially vision and hearing which both are lacking for me.

For many years, I was bitter. Even angry at God for inflicting me with this progressive degenerative disease. Especially when it began to limit my ability to be independent.

I was so focused on what I was unable to do, I’d forgotten there were other ways to enjoy the beauty around me. I still had my other senses – touch and smell for example.

The warmth on my skin from the sun’s rays.

The vibrant fragrance of flowers and trees around me.

It is amazing how these other senses become more powerful to compensate for what I lack with hearing and seeing. I am actually much more aware of what’s around me. For instance, I can feel vibrations under my feet when people with normal senses do not.

I am learning to be thankful for all these blessings that He has bestowed me instead of being so focused on what I can’t do.

Beauty is more than something we can see or hear. Beauty is something we experience from within – beauty begins in the heart.

In God’s eyes, beauty isn’t always something we see. Again, for God, true beauty begins with the heart.

1 Peter 3:3,4

Each day, I try to remind myself that even though my sight is failing, there are other ways to see the beauty around me – and that all begins with my heart.