rose-colored {sun}glasses.

08 Jul 2011 14 Comments

by mary kathryn tyson in bloggiversary party, encouragement for the journey, family & friends who are family, life abundant. Tags: catherine's story

several weeks ago, one of my bff’s catherine wrote a series of posts about her journey in, through, around, and to the other side of invisibility. when she and i reconnected earlier this year, this was one of the biggest stories (perhaps the main one) she shared with me about what god had done in her life since we lost touch a few years ago. her story impacted me in such a way i asked her to tell it here to the beauty for ashes community.

which she did.

and you responded.

because i have so many wonderful guest-posts in the queue, i had saved fridays for myself to participate in five-minute fridays just as i have for the last few months, and just as i had planned to do today. catherine sent this post to me a few nights ago and i had slated it for a day a week or two from now.

but her message is more important than my creative writing for today, so i’m fore-going 5mf because i want you to be encouraged by her post today. it is such an inspiring and uplifting follow-up to her series and will tie up the first week of my bloggiversary party with a pretty bow! i know you’ll love it.

i hope you’ve enjoyed the guest posts this week! thank you for celebrating one year in the blogosphere with me! there’s only more to come, so refresh your bevvy, grab a snack and come back on monday for more fun here!

(funny…last time i celebrated ‘one year’ of anything, i got a white chip for it.)

(which some of you might feel you deserve for being here that long.)

p.s. i’ve added my itinerary page up top (‘itinerary’…sounds so…professional! and…important! doesn’t it? well, that’s me, you know…), featuring different events where i’ll be loving on folks in the days to come.

i’d love to see you at any of them!

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Recently my family and I went on vacation for a week to Florida.  It was the first time we had done a week-long trip, just the five of us, EVER.  Given the wildness of our recent journey with God and how much we have been apart it was a very timely blessing for us to go.

Before we left two friends passing through our area on their way back home from a God-assignment to cleanse and bless some land stopped in our town to have lunch with us.  They bought gift bags for each of us with snacks and car games for the road, thoughtfully matched to each of our designs – it was really a sweet blessing.  The kids were so excited about theirs I did not even get to open mine.

After lunch right before my friend left she said “I got you something fun for the trip,” as she pulled an object wrapped in the great bubble wrap with the really big loud bubbles out of my bag (gift enough for the kid in me).  “Rose colored glasses for your trip to Disney.” 

And there they were.  Big, square, more stylish than practical, with rhinestones in the corners, rose colored lenses and frames, and though never in a jillion years would I have picked them they looked ridiculously good on me(I thought, or possibly just ridiculous, depending…)…Hmm…

We had a wonderful time at Disney.  I had never been, and seeing it all through my kids’ eyes was amazing.  I found myself wearing my glasses every day.  Hmm…

I must confess, I have always had some private disdain for those who habitually “look at life through rose colored glasses.”  Too Pollyanna.  Too flimsy.  Lacking the drive of fierce intentionality.  How are they ever going to get their Kingdom objectives accomplished on this earth?  Yet here I was, thoroughly enjoying the reality and symbol of my rhinestone encrusted pink sunglasses.  Moi?

And all week people kept telling me I was beautiful.  That is not something I have never heard before, but if you knew more of my story, well…there is a story and becoming seen for who I truly am, in spirit, soul and body has been quite the journey in the past few years.  And I am still being redeemed, still participating in the grace of redemption.  I still don’t always see in the mirror a reflection that is aligned with the Truly Real.  So in all these comments about my beauty I knew people were seeing the whole me, the real me, my spirit frame more than my physical, and…I also knew God had my number.  Just wasn’t sure quite when the phone would ring.  Turns out that would be Saturday night.

We left Florida Saturday morning, fulfilled and slightly wan that it was over – also slightly exhausted from taking full, fun advantage of the extra magic hours from 11 til 2 with kids aged 9, 7, and 4 on Friday night.  What a blast…So we trekked from ORL to ATL 7 hours by way of I-75 to spend time with dear friends – a couple we do not see enough of-  over Saturday night.  As we talked and shared and ministered to one another the questions turned to me.

Hmm…rarely do people ever ask me questions about me.  Usually they are looking for answers from me.  These are friends who would ask anyway but it struck a chord in my spirit.  So after a few skillful questions that illuminated my life right now in view of all God has done and changed my perspective (wait a cotton-pickin minute, isn’t that MY patented trick?  I love people who can hold the mirror up to me that I so often hold the other side of for others.  So thankful for that.) – I made a comment about God reminding me of the reality of growth this season – “You are bigger than you think you are” – encouraging me on the journey, and how I feared the pendulum swing between there and being too full of myself.

And my friend says “No.  I think you got that all wrong, Catherine,” he says.  “I don’t think you have ever approached being too full of yourself.  What you don’t see, what I don’t think you have ever seen in your whole life, is just how BEAUTIFUL God finds you to be.  You are SO beautiful.”

That word again.  I tried to breathe.  This voice that travels the world speaking God ‘s Kingdom into being but who I just know as Jamie, my friend of nine years,  just became a voice of grace to me and God made real in my heart what I could preach from my head for the last oh-so-many years.  Yes, it matters how we walk and what character we develop and with what degree of dignity and honor to the King we bring the gifts of our spirit to bear on this earth we are given dominion over.  Yes, it makes a difference to Him how we do what we do, and we are responsible to be ever-learners.  *BUT* (best word-weapon God ever invented) that is totally, absolutely, completely a separate package from how beautiful He finds us, intentionally created reflections of His own spirit, to be. It’s two completely different subjects.

He values me and finds me beautiful.  Absolutely unhinged from anything I do, He values me.  Suddenly my mind has been changed by the knowledge of the image of my Creator (Col. 3:10) and something I knew as well as I could in my head all these years is spectacularly written on my heart and I am free to be me.

Those rose colored lenses have migrated inside my eyeballs.

And the disdain is history.

Hallelujah.

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Catherine Warren is a lover of words, a wife, a mother of three, and medical professional who is passionate about seeing people transformed by coming into the knowledge of their God-given design and unlocking the potential of their human spirit. She delights in seeing the dignity that comes to a person when their eyes are opened to their purpose.