The Beauty of Wrinkles

Yet you, LORD, are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand.

(Isaiah 64:8, NIV)


Our van stopped at a junction and an advertisement on the billboard caught my eye. It publicized a beautiful girl with flawless complexion holding on to a peeled mask of her older face – one which is wrinkled and drained by the years. An attractive discount offered for a makeover boldly printed at the bottom. What is new? The lure of the commercial world of our era is ever seeking to be more convincing.

My husband instantly commented, “The older face looks so much better. It is carved by character.” I looked again at the billboard and thought that’s pretty profound in the words of my wise husband. The older face looked more real, down to earth, though a bit wrinkled but possessed the grace of aging. That’s a certain kind of beauty which is unexplainable. It has earned its glory through the hard years of life. The younger face displayed was so flawless that it makes it so fake.

A bookmark given by a friend many years ago tucked in my bible read:

Today I saw a lovely thing…

A tree,

Sculptured and turned,

Weathered by the winds

And storms of the years.

I thought of you…

How time and hardships

Can work grace and beauty,

When lovingly fashioned

By the MASTER’S HAND

I know you are precious in HIS sight…

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

by Glenna Oldham

We do not have to fall into the trap of the unruly commercials. Our beauty and worth are determined not by the cosmetics and outer adornment. It is the Lord’s beauty filling our life as we spend time with him regularly and allowing him to gently mould and fashion us according to his purposes. Because we are his, we are called “precious and honored in his sight” (Isaiah 43:4). This is the key text of GEMS which I hold strongly too as God spoke to me many years ago that how many women are destroyed simply not knowing this truth. As daughters of the King, we must recognize our precious worth in and to him.

As we age (which is inevitable), know that the glory and beauty of the years are characterized in our face. When you look into the mirror and find facial lines as the pages of your life chapter turns, know that the Potter shapes us into his masterpieces – every piece intend to depict his character if only we allow him.

Precious Gems, we don’t stay young forever. Whether you are 10, 20 or 30 now, the number will continue to increase and we cannot live in denial. We must glow with his radiance whatever age we are. Our character is carved. To the beautiful girls of God, we all say - Amen!

Father, as I look into your eyes, I see such beauty. Fill me with your beauty anew daily. Let me be your confident girl in every season. Let those who look at me see your beauty and grace. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Heavenly Canvas

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Psalm 19:1, NIV

Three days had gone by. The image I captured as we drove back from the mainland along the Penang Bridge to the island was just a normal splash of colours in the sky of the late afternoon. Yet it remained in my memory for days. The mixture of blue and white background was lined artistically with such graceful strokes of orange streaks. No eyes could have missed that masterpiece. It was gloriously hung above us. Yet many times we overlook the sky, simply because we forget to look up.

It was a rush day being the first day of the lunar new year. The agenda for the next few days had been lined up with full schedule of visitations. I whispered to God every now and then that I would not miss his presence amidst the crowds, noise and heat. The loudness of his presence broke forth through the simplest yet majestic display of the sky. When I spotted the glamorous look, I exclaimed with excitement in the car, “Look! Beautiful!” Clicked. The image was captured. Not in any digital camera since my old one declared its end of life some time ago. Instantly I stored it in my memory.

The power of this panoramic view was amplified when I read Psalm 19 the next morning. Yes, indeed the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. The immense space above calls our attention to the glory of God’s creative work. His revelation made known in such radiance in the vastness of the sky. How can we dismiss the Creator of all? I couldn’t help but worship him as his radiance permeated my spirit.

When was the last time you look up the sky and marvel at his art piece?
Let your eyes see the beauty of his work and your heart praises his name.

Creator of all, I heard the skies proclaim your name. Call my attention today to your creative work and let my heart shout your praise. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What A Wondrous Work!

For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord. I sing for joy at the works of your hands.
How great are your works, O Lord, how profound your thoughts.

(Psalm 92:4-5, NIV)

Nine people. One cave. And a sunny day. It was barely 10 ’o clock. It was very warm, as usual, I was sitting in the morning sun.

At 10:30am we would enter the mouth of Gua Tempurung. As we were waiting, I thought to myself, “Bother! Time sure passes s-l-o-w-l-y when you are waiting!" If only 10:30 would come just a bit quicker.

Finally when it did, I joined the rest of the group, standing around a guide who was briefing us on what we were going to be doing and what to expect. I was so excited! Even though I had visited this cave before. The guide was speaking in Malay so I couldn’t understand much but I knew what to expect anyway. We saw another guide gathering some stuff that he would need to take us around in our tour inside the cave.

When we were inside, dim lights guided our path. We saw all sorts of natural sculptures, like an elephant’s head, people sleeping, and hands reaching down from the ceiling. Different shapes of stalactites and stalagmites grew in every direction. Although I have to admit it was rather stinky, it was beautiful!

I thought, “Wow! Isn’t that amazing!" I thought to myself how great God is, that all those sculptures are natural and that God made them just the way they are. I figured and saw how awesome He is and what He can do. If God can make rocks and caves look so beautiful and special, surely He can shape me to be beautiful too, right? 100%, absolutely, positively sure He can!!

So today I pray, that God will shape my life and every one of your lives to be a beautiful attraction to many people, and that they may know that He is really the One who made us all the way we are.

God of Majesty, I praise You for Your wondrous works. Thank You for making this beautiful world and me! Continue to shape me according to Your will and let others see Christ in me. In Jesus' name. Amen.

(This week's devotion contributed by Ashlynn Lim)

All Rights Reserved @ 2010

Mummy, Milk… Mummy, Mummy, Milk!

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

(Psalm 42:1-2, NIV)

Time out is good for me. It is necessary. Whenever I return home, I can see and hear an excited child running to greet me. “Mummy, mummy…” The child will jump on me and snuggled up under my arms. Next, he will burrow his way through while giving me a smile, “Mummy, milk.” Grandparents will always laugh and tease him that he needs his fix. The moment he latches on, he will be contented and enjoy his moment nursing in the warmth of my arms. A typical picture of our home for the past years. This has been the normal experience of nursing four babies till toddlerhood, and one till preschool. The best antidote to soothe a distress baby or wounded child is to nurse him.

The child finds immense comfort and contentment nursing in the mum’s arms. The intimate bond brings forth unspeakable joy. Here in the secure and loving arms of mummy, the child receives gentle whispers of love, assurance and affirmation of his identity. The eyes of the innocent child meet the loving eyes of mum. They exchange smiles. My little one even hums and dances during his feeds. He purely enjoys his moments while being satisfied with nature’s best food. I remember how one of my girls told me, “Mummy’s milk is the best” after tasting cow’s milk for the first time!

One of the greatest joys of motherhood is that God has designed the woman’s body not just with attractive curves and aesthetic assets, but with a higher purpose. To nourish her young! It is an excellent and enriching experience for both mother and child. Along with it is a great analogy of Psalm 42:1-2. Here the psalmist pants for God like the deer pants for the water. It is so similar to the nursing child’s longing after mum’s presence and milk for they satisfy like no other, we should long after God’s presence and living water. Truly none can satisfy like the Giver of Life.

My child would chase me down if he doesn’t get his milk. Are we God chasers?
My child would plunge into my arms once he gets hold of me and he won’t let me go till he is being satisfied and full. Do we hunger and thirst after God and cling on to him till we are satisfied in his presence?
My child will look at me and wait for me to whisper to him my love as he nurses. Do we wait on the Father and hear his whispers of love?
My child has learnt to say, “Thank you, mummy” after he is done. Do we say, “Thank you, God” after we are done for that moment.

O Loving Father, here I come running to You…receive me into Your arms of love and satisfy me. I am hungry and thirsty, for You, the living God. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

One of A Kind

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.

(I Corinthians 12:27-28, NIV)

Irresistible!
That’s how I would describe cheese for my family. I have learnt to love cheese after being a wife and mum, simply because my beloved husband and children LOVE it. We love all sorts of cheese except blue cheese. Our visit to the cheese factory in Tasmania was an incredible experience. The best part of the visit was of course - the sample tasting. The wide spread of delicacy was laid across the counter. One should had seen the excitement and wide smiles on these kids’ faces! Ooh…aah…emm…yummy!! In all we probably sampled fifteen varieties. Left out a few odd flavors like chilly and wasabi. Needless to say, we consumed a lot of cheese while we were on that holiday. Cheap and good.

They requested I bring back this precious gift from my trip to Australia again one year later. I tried my best to accommodate this request. So I packed 12 blocks of different kinds of cheese into the cooler box and flew them back. That was the “gold” they waited for besides their mummy.

Back in the local scene, I always end up grabbing the cheapest off the shelf no matter what my recipe was. It is usually the sliced processed cheddar cheese. Sadly, I have to forgo certain recipes which have cheese specification. Every visit to the grocery store, my kids will lure my attention to check out the different ones displayed. I will always point them to the price tags!

Last week, I shopped alone and decided to give my cheese-crazy family a treat. Mozzarella for the potato jacket. Parmesan for some left over pasta. Dinner was indeed satisfying. The first bite into the serving tantalized our taste buds. They savoured every bit of their portions. Then we experimented the various cheeses with different dish. The conclusion of our dinner was we just have to pick the right cheese for the right dish. Oh well, sliced processed cheddar cheese does the job most of the time but it was not the premium taste and quality on potato jacket and pasta although it is excellent in sandwiches. The texture and taste is simply different in all the cheeses. Not that we don't know but we have to compromise the taste due to budget.

The savoury thought brought to mind the Apostle Paul’s analogy in I Corinthians 12 of the body. Every saint is created with a unique design to fulfill a specific function to build his church. It is meant to compliment each other and never intended for competition. When each of us fit into our design and serve our purpose, we will send sweet smelling aroma and tantalizing taste to a world that needs to see and taste that the Lord is good.

What kind of “cheese” are you?
Which “dish” will you serve best?
Let’s take a moment this week to reflect on our form and function.

Heavenly Father, You are such a Marvelous Maker – creatively fashioning me into one of a kind to serve Your call. Help me to accept and appreciate the person You made me. Equip and empower me as I seek to be united with the rest of the Body of Christ to bring forth Your fragrance and goodness to this world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.