Cara.

A few weeks ago I asked God to show me who HE thinks is beautiful. The more I pray that, the more He shows me, and the more I realize how much our society has twisted and degraded what true beauty really is.

Friday night I walked with some people from school to Ellis street to hang out with the homeless as they were waiting for dinner and a church service at SafeHouse. While there, I spent most of the time in conversation with one of the most beautiful women I've ever met. Her name is Cara. She was wearing jeans and an oversized, plain gray tee shirt. She is skinny, light skinned, and her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. She had the most crooked teeth I've ever seen. She desperately needs dental work. Every time she smiled or spoke, she held her hand over her mouth, and I'd have to lean in to hear her words. The conversation jumped around from church to snow to Disney and everything around and in between. I learned very little about her, but at the same time I learned a lot about her. You see, she's very shy and doesn't talk much at all. Towards the end, she told us that that was the most she had ever spoken in one sitting. We apologized if we asked too many questions, but Cara didn't mind; she enjoyed the conversation. Then she smiled with her hand over her mouth.

God blessed me immensely through my encounter with Cara. He blessed me not only through the words which were spoken, but He blessed me by giving me His eyes in that moment of time. I saw this woman the way that her Maker sees her. Jesus is not finished with her yet. He loves her so much. He's going to completely transform her life and shine through her immensely. And He's beginning to now. I pray that our paths will cross again, but if they don't, I know I will see her again next to her Savior with the brightest, widest, most unashamed smile I'll ever see. =) Ha..yes. This is beauty.