Familiar with the phrase, “It’s always calmest before the storm”? Or “It’s always darkest before the dawn”?
I’m adding a new one: “It’s always ugliest before the pretty.”
I walked into my favorite salon yesterday with two-day-old hair pulled back in a messy bun (sorry, Meghan), and couldn’t wait to get my roots touched up and experiment with new hair color.
Highlights alone already take some time. See all those foils? There is a teeny tiny amount of hair inside those foils. It’s time consuming, and requires patience and skillful fingers.
It’s not pretty looking like the Tin Man, or that I’m afraid aliens are going to invade my brain. But it’s worth it once the foils are out, the color rinsed, and a new beautiful head of hair is professionally blow-dryed.
Because sometimes it’s ugliest before the pretty.
Cleaning
When cleaning the house, and I mean a deep clean, I’ll spend a few hours making piles of trash, donate, store, and “do something with.” Sometimes I’ll look around and think, “It looks like I haven’t done anything!” However, at that point, at the “messiest” of the cleaning, I’m almost done.
The pretty is right around the corner.
Cooking
Some meals are better left unseen until the finished product. Raw ground hamburger isn’t particularly appetizing, but once it’s dressed up inside a taco shell, chili, or formed into a cooked patty, it’s a different story. Even the process of getting a chicken from farm to table isn’t pleasant to watch. But a de-feathered breast covered in Popeyes, KFC, or Bonnie Lee’s secret recipe makes for darn good fried chicken.
The process can be ugly, but pretty is coming.
Relationships
The Bible says to live peaceably and gives a slew of instructions and advice on how to deal with life when there is discord. The key here is that there will be discord. Bitterness, anger, hurt feelings, and a wounded pride are all ugly. Tension is uncomfortable.
I read a study that said it is better to be around people you like or don’t like, rather than around people you feel tense with. When both parties like or don’t like each other, there’s no question on where you stand, and no feeling weird. When there is a tension, it’s like walking on eggshells, and has an unhealthy affect on your body.
A good fight can be cleansing. It clears the air and allows for a fresh start. It’s definitely ugly, but a mended relationship or a healed heart is beautiful.
Work
Five months ago, I prayed for God to bless my book, to bless my writing, and to bless me with speaking opportunities. I feared that I wasn’t doing my part, especially during the holidays. I couldn’t sit by and let the blessings He’d already given me fall by the wayside.
It was an ugly time for my heart.
I doubted I was good enough. I worried that I would let God down. I engaged in negative self-talk. Then I decided to cancel the pity party and speak truth.
I’m not good enough, but I can do all things through Christ.
If I do my best, and actively pursue this dream, I’m not letting God down.
I reminded myself of all the crazy awesome positive things that have happened in an extremely short amount of time.
I came through the ugly and am enjoying some pretty. My speaking calendar is filling up, I’m earning money writing, and even have a couple of future surprises in store.
Sometimes the messy part of planning allows for a nice return. My calendar looks ugly, my desk looks ugly, and my to-do list looks ugly.
But anytime I feel like I’m living in the ugly, I remind myself that pretty is on the other side.
[reminder]What areas of life do you find are ugly before they get pretty?[/reminder]
The ugly is often very overwhelming, but the idea of it being “ugly” is a lie. Isaiah 41; Romans 5:3-10; Psalm 43 (basically every Psalm tells the story of overcoming) tells us that God sees beauty even in our gross mess of life and He wants us to rejoice with Him. Often enough, we ( I ) ignore the mess and when it’s time to take charge of it, God doesn’t get to be apart of it because of the shame we carry.
I love the idea of using the cleaning procedure on personal feelings. What if we delved through our emotions and put them into groups of, “lies,” “truths,” “obstacles to overcome” and “do something.” We could actually be able to see our life situations for exactly what they are. I think I’m going to use this for getting my life organized. I’ve felt overwhelmed by all the things that are “wrong” in my life. But if I categorize all these things, I see them as clear goals because I get rid of all my negative thoughts and the lies I’ve been telling myself about those goals.