Primping

FOCUS READING

Proverbs 4:3b (The Message)

Above all and before all, do this: Get Wisdom! Write this at the top of your list: Get Understanding! Throw your arms around her—believe me, you won't regret it; never let her go—she'll make your life glorious. She'll garland your life with grace, she'll festoon your days with beauty."

DAILY BYTE

This past week, I had to have my photograph taken. I knew the photographer was to arrive in the morning, so I made sure I had my favorite clergy outfit on, and I stood in front of the mirror to primp and prod myself, as I, and, it seems, most of the rest of the world does every morning.

We look at our faces in the mirror, wondering, what can I do to make myself look more beautiful today...? Definitely wash my face. A comb would help. And a little blush and some lipstick... For the men, a little gel, and a haircut? No time for that now – but mmm – Botox? – really not an option, although ...?

We ask our reflection in the mirror, am I good-looking? Was I ever good-looking? Will I ever be good-looking? When you look at models on TV, they’re almost always in their twenties. I wonder when I see that – did I miss my moment? Is it too late for me to be beautiful? Am I beautiful the way I am? And if not, what do I need to do to become more beautiful?

There’s no question in my mind, as I stand in the queue at the grocery store, gazing at all the magazines, that we are an image-conscious culture. Just a little while ago, I heard a very beautiful little girl compare her face to that of a baboon. The young girls at a children’s home I work with smear their walls with magazine cutouts of anorexic Caucasian models – images that are totally unachievable for most of them because of their skin colour and body type. Who gave these young people the idea that their own bodies are ugly and should be replaced by something or someone else? I think we’re all somehow responsible.

And this message is for the guys, too! I go to gym – I know some guys who spend a lot more time in front of the mirror and picking out an outfit than I do. Guys who are very quick to critique their own features and plenty of other peoples’, too.

The drive to be good-looking or beautiful – however we define beauty – rages through all of us. We are obsessed with the image that we see in the mirror.

Do find that you are obsessed with your mirror image? Do you linger a little longer than you would like, examining your features in the morning, as you wash up and get dressed? Do your eyes critique those you see in public whom you decide are more beautiful or less beautiful than you think you are?

If so, keep reading this week.

This is, according to many, the most beautiful and wonderful time of the year, as we anticipate the birth of Christ at Christmas. And so, we’re going to look this week at why Mary was beautiful and what her beauty might have to teach us about our own.

(It is with heavy hearts that we, at Manning Road Methodist Church, announce that this week’s BDC will be our last. With both Anna and Roger moving on and Gareth’s work commitments unable to allow him to continue this service, the decision was taken to bring it to a close.

HOWEVER, all is not lost!

The daily messages of “Faith For Daily Living” are available on an internet site specifically designed for cellphones. If you are able to access the internet on your cellphone and would like to make use of this service, SMS "MOBI FFDL" to 33978 and a link will be sent directly to your phone that you can add to your bookmarks for daily use.

Alternatively, type http://faithfordailyliving.mobi into your phone’s internet browser and access the site directly.

There is no subscription fee for this service, although there is a once-off charge of R1.50 for the SMS and your cellphone provider will apply its usual rates for accessing the web.

For those who wish to receive it via email daily, go to http://faithfordailyliving.org/Apply.html and enter your email address in the relevant box

Another excellent resource is the Upper Room Daily Devotional available for mobiles and email and can be sourced from http://devotional.upperroom.org/emaildevotional - follow the relevant instructions.

Thanking you all for sharing this journey with us...

Manning Road Methodist Church)