So, I don’t know this from personal experience, but they say when people get married, all of their habits and complexities, all the quirky little things that make up each person, come right along with them… Apparently, they don’t just exist there with you though. The good, the bad and the ugly of each person becomes even more obvious and exaggerated in marriage.
Before COVID-19 changed life as we know it, that was only a hypothetical to me. As it turns out, it is not just a theory for married people, haha. Married and unmarried; young and old; rich and poor… nobody is exempt by this trend. Especially right now!
Whatever you had going on before we began social distancing and quarantine, you took with you into your homes and it has almost certainly been accentuated since you’ve been staying home: the good, the bad and the ugly.
I was trying to figure out why this might be and I’m pretty sure it’s connected to intimacy. When people are living together in close quarters and share not only a physical nearness but also an emotional, intellectual and spiritual closeness, they come face-to-face with all sorts of things! They get to experience an increased beauty and deep appreciation for the other, as well as having a front row seat to their inner turmoil and frustrating tendencies.
The thing is, people are being forced to face themselves in this way now too.
Unfortunately, the bad and the ugly seem to take most of our attention. We forget about the beauty and wonder that also exists within each one of us! When God created the earth, it wasn’t until he had created people, his image-bearers, that he said everything was “Very good”.
Are we perfect? Absolutely not.
Now that we have more time at home, is life magically easier and less hectic? Absolutely not.
Our habits and tendencies remain… and we have a choice to make. Will we continue to focus on distracting ourselves from them or ignoring that they exist and putting all of our brain power to our faults and mistakes? Or… will we choose to spend a couple extra minutes considering and actually appreciating the ways God’s image is reflected in us?
What if we choose to turn our attention to our Creator and ask Him what He sees in us?
What if we began to celebrate our identity as Beloved Children of God rather than focusing on the sinner we tend to see first?
Let’s choose to see the very good within ourselves today. To enter into an even deeper place of intimacy with the Lord by joining him in the celebration and adoration of his precious image-bearers.
Please read Psalm 139 to help jump start us into re-considering who we are and who our God is in the midst of it all. May you be blessed by what you discover!