PRODIGAL DAUGHTERS, PART 2: IT'S TIME TO MINE

If you ask me to define beauty, chances are I will not take time to give you an explanation from the dictionary; nor will I look around to have a picture to pinpoint from the world around me what it looks like. No, I will simply look within me, smile right back at you and say, “Beauty is me.”

One of the best examples I’ve always remembered when sharing about beauty, value and worth is that of an individual with a clean KSH. 50 note in one hand and KSH. 1000 note on the other. The fifty shilling note is said to be brand new, while the other note is crumbled, stepped on and even torn into two at the end. The question always asked is this; does the value of the 1000 shilling note become less valuable than that of the fifty because of its unattractive state? No it doesn’t. The same thing applies to you as a human being my dear friend. You may not feel good about yourself and may question your value and worth in your very own eyes. You may look in the mirror and despise what reflects right back at you. However, after all is said and done, despite and in spite of your deeds, your value in no way lessens as a creation of God. Your current state of imperfection, either self inflicted or inflicted by others does not change all that God says about you.

The reason why we have several people young and old in search for ‘a beauty’ and losing sight of the fact that it flows from within, is because in the restless world that we live in, various cultures are dynamically redefining what beauty is all about. There’s always something popping up every other day that is seemingly better, brighter, more efficient, more stylish, more this more that more the other.... there’s always more, but never enough. The state of contentment is seemingly far from reach in the name of self improvement and infernos of low self esteem, jealousy, bitterness, revenge, lust and others are consuming us day in day out.

We all have histories-the days you have lived to this very moment, made up your history. Good or bad, it’s history. Though your history, unfortunately like history books is not one that can be revised with every edition. The realities that took place with or without your approval happened and cannot be changed. However, staying hooked to that past is not something meant to build you but break you, especially if it is one that had a lot of pain, shame and sorrow. The past as one said is suppose to make you better, not bitter, though for some of us it’s more of the latter. We are holding on too tightly to what ought to be released and shredded into pieces, fighting hard to keep ourselves comfortable by building walls around us as we shoot painful arrows to our avengers with our words and deeds. Whether because of fear or stubbornness (as I mentioned these to be the key reasons why people refuse to change) the truth is, it goes beyond all that for you to realise the beauty that lies within you.

All you have to do is choose to go on a mining escapade within yourself. The inner you is your mining ground. Nobody else can dig up the treasures that lie within unless you do. No one can view you in any other way other than the way you present yourself. Some may see beyond your ultimate presentation but only until you accept and embrace your inner representation, does what they see really make the difference.

It all starts with you.

I’ll ask you one thing? Do you believe what God says about you? If yes, don’t stop believing. If not, then start on a clean slate today. You have to first and foremost take a chance to have faith and believe that what He has said about you is true. It’s no fallacy, because He is the one who made you, and if anything, He should be the one to call the shots because He created you with His own hand and breathed his life into you. You are a representation of a God who is great, strong and mighty- and those very characteristics are yours as well.

What lies within your heart and soul is the very description of who you are, so do not allow your precious self to be squeezed into the mould of the worlds dynamic definitions of who you ought to be. Aren’t you tired already of keeping up with it all? Yet God’s definition is never changing-no matter what contrary thought you choose to carry, the beauty that He bestowed upon you since the day He moulded you is eternal.

Broken as it may seem, “the Potter wants to put you back together again”

Here me, dear friend, these are not words to give you a sensational temporal feeling, these words are the truth that you have the option to choose to carry with you each and every day, come rain or sunshine. Beauty is not permanent; it’s no finished work-it’s a continuous action that takes place with the consent of the holder. That beauty needs to be retrieved from within.

It all lies within you-you are beautiful. Beauty is you.

Say it with me.... “I am beautiful, and Beauty is Me.”

It’s time go on a mining excursion. It’s time to dig deep. It’s time to get the facts straight and return to the ultimate mirror and remind thyself of who you really are. If you don’t see it, then I urge you to be patient and keep digging. As you dig you will come into contact with a lot of ‘garbage’. The pain, the anger, the jealousy, inferiority, low self esteem, solidified tears (if you need to breakdown and cry, please do so, you are a work in progress on your way to the greatest realization of your life, so make room letting them flow) and a whole lot of junk that needs to be removed from your heart. Do not squeeze it all up in a corner of your heart. Take it and give it away, it’s no yours to keep. It may look ugly for you to even take hold of, but if that is what lies in your heart, then that is what God sees. He is not blinded to the filth- in fact it is that very filth that He wants to transform into the beauty that is to be continually deposited in your heart as you walk closer with Him. So as you dig in, surrender all that you feel and know is not beauty into His hands. N:B, DON’T STOP DIGGING

Let it go-break down those walls and create a door.

Love yourself enough to see worth in yourself. Forgive yourself from this point, for belittling yourself. Forgive yourself for searching elsewhere for something you already have and walk in awareness of your worth. The characteristics of things such as being secure, humble, a great self esteem are among the treasures you will find in your excursion. Keep them, hold them and never let go of them. Embrace them and remember them, especially in those moments when you feel like they are losing their meaning. They are not, as long as you give God room to deposit them in you in your daily walk with Him. He will assure you of these and much more if you let Him. Mark this, He never fails, so you’re in good hands, don’t expect Him to let you go, no matter how many times you fall... He never fails and He won’t start now.

Keep this in mind as you embark on your journey of excursion and more so creation of a brand new you;

Treasures are hard to find- yet those who seek to be diligent and persistent in accessing them enjoy their radiance and the greatest feeling of owning the finally found prize. A diamond is found not on mere ground, but deep in it covered and carefully protected. Pearls too, are also not seen with bear eyes, floating on the shores of the ocean, but they are found at the very bottom where majority dread to take a chance and delve into. They are present, covered neatly and beautifully in their shell. What about gold, do you just find it lying around anywhere? I’m not talking products of gold, I’m talking of the rock itself... If you attended a geography class then to the best of your knowledge you know that is found down deep in the mine; covered with several layers of rock.

You see? It all lies deep within you. There’s no beauty out there, the beauty you are searching for lies within you. You’ve got it all going for you, because God Himself is doing a work in you.

It’s about time you begun mining your very own soul- the treasures that lie within I pray will ultimately make you content, complete and make you whole.

Stop the searching-start the mining.

Beauty is you! 

©namwano