I love to begin the new year with a word to focus on, something that I want to intentionally keep in mind and build my life around. More often than not, the word I pick ends up being the very thing I struggle with the most, whether because I’m more aware of it or because God brings about lots of opportunities for me to practice. Either way, it’s something that I like to reflect on as the year closes and I look forward to the months that come.
My word this year is beauty. I learned a lot about beauty, how to look for it, how to strive for it, and how to create it, in 2023. At least, I did from an ideological standpoint. I know it’s importance, now. I don’t view beauty as something that is frivolous or extra. It’s not a privilege of time or money. It’s a necessity. It’s intrinsic to our personhood to crave it and seek it. The universe is a beautiful, wonderful place. A broken place, yes, but the fingerprints of the Creator’s imagination and love of beauty is clearly seen in the way the sky is streaked with color at sunset, or the way a flower blooms, or the way babies stretch when they yawn. I want to prioritize beauty and elevate it to the level of attention it deserves. I don’t feel like I do a very good job of this, however. Incorporating beauty takes forethought, sacrifice, and insight. It’s going to take some practice for me. And that’s why I want to focus on it, especially, this year.
Beauty of Self- I want to consider what beauty looks like for myself, as a person. I think that the idea of dress, hair, and face come to mind first when I think of a “beautiful” person and, certainly, that’s part of what I want to pursue. The way I dress does affect my mindset; when I wear pajama-like clothes and leave my hair unbrushed, I show up as a different person during the day than when I prepare myself. This is where the concept of beauty not being a privilege of time or money comes in. I don’t have many beautiful clothes. I don’t have lots of makeup. I don’t always have time to braid my hair or curl it. That doesn’t mean I can’t present myself as put-together and tidy. Even a simple pony-tail, skirt and top, and pair of earrings I bought at Claire’s when I was 15 can make me feel more capable to take on my day. (This isn’t to say I won’t ever wear sweatpants or lounge clothes; some days call for that. But I want to be characterized by something better) I feel more like a lady when I am dressed and maybe have on a bit of lipstick (my new favorite thing) and when I feel like a lady, I act more like a lady.
But even more than my physical representation, I want to embody beauty in the ways I speak, act, and create. I want my behavior to my family to be full of grace and compassion. I don’t want to speak with ugly, impatient words. I don’t want to grumble and hold an attitude of bitterness. I want to be the kind of person that brings comfort and happiness where she goes, not strife and stress. I’m learning just how important it is to guard the things I am allowing into my mind; books, music, videos, online content. Even less than avoiding things that aren’t ideal, I want to purposefully seek out people, pictures, and words that are full of goodness and truth. The more I stuff my brain with beautiful things, the more beauty I hold in my mind and heart, the faster and sweeter and more consistently it appears in my behavior.
Beauty of Atmosphere-I want my home to be a beautiful place. This is another area where it may seem that money, circumstances, or situations are important to the end goal. Certainly, it may be easier to build beautiful spaces with a big budget and a spacious, well-maintained home. But beauty is not reserved for the rich and wealthy. Even in our humble, dilapidated, old house, I can give my family beautiful things. I think the biggest area I want to work on in this category is tidiness. Tidy rooms are always more beautiful than cluttered ones. I notice a huge difference in how my kids interact with an environment that is orderly versus one that is unkempt. Now, as a mom of four young children, my home is never going to be immaculate, and that’s ok. But I want to make sure I have habits and systems in place so that keeping my home well is something I am characterized by. I want to take the time to pay attention to little details, like having flowers on the kitchen table, arranging blankets and pillows on the couch in a way that is cozy and inviting, and folding the towel nicely on the bathroom sink. I am often tempted to brush past these because they “don’t matter”, but when I take the extra few seconds here or there to bring a touch of beauty to a space, I realize it does matter, as it brings me great joy and delight when I see it.
This spills over, I think, into the atmosphere of our home when it comes to us and how we structure our days. Just like I struggle with homemaking when it comes to finding systems of cleaning, laundry, and organizing, I also struggle with preparedness. Getting out the door to church, meals after events, keeping the car ready for our next outing…these are all situations that usually end in chaos. And when things are chaotic, well, I don’t act like a very beautiful person. Creating routines and structure that encourage smoother transitions is one of the biggest ways I want to grow in beauty. I also want to make sure that beautiful things have a place in our day. Time for reading, outdoor play, learning together, art, and cooking need to be prioritized alongside the chores and daily tasks that keep our home running. I don’t want my kids to think of beauty, once again, as a privilege of those who have “extra” resources; I want them to view it as a birthright, to claim it with habits that bring them before wonderful, beautiful things. And that will happen most effectively if I model it myself.
Beauty of Creativity- I want to spend time this year making beautiful things. In a practical sense, I want to keep in mind that beauty can be infused even in the day-to-day; the way books are arranged on a table, the colors of the foods I serve at breakfast, the way I arrange the furniture on the deck. Beauty can shine in flavors, a sprinkle of parsley on dinner, the way the towels are folded on the shelf. There are so many opportunities to be creative, even when I’m just going about my daily tasks, and I don’t want to miss them.
I also want to create beauty that has no other purpose than bringing joy. I want to paint and write and letter in ways that spread hope and encouragement with those around me. I talk a lot with my kids about how we need to be creators, people who build up and make better and restore, not people that destroy or tear down. I want to focus on building this quality with them this year.
I hope that through my pursuit of beauty, I am able to deeply serve and minister to the people around me, cultivate a heart of thankfulness, and, most of all, bring glory to God. He has created such an amazing world with so many beautiful things, what a gift it is to spend another year in it!
