About a week ago a friend of mine visited her old work place, when she got there she saw a former colleague and was shocked by her appearance. She looked drawn, sick, and bland, like someone whose life had been sucked out. Someone who had formerly taken joy in wearing makeup, nice clothes and generally looking and feeling good now looked like a shadow of herself. In a later conversation she found out that the woman in question had “given her life to Christ” and that was the reason for her new appearance.
When I heard this story I was deeply saddened, my friend who was just generally giving me “gist” was surprised by how personal I seemed to be taking the whole story, but I couldn't help it. All I could imagine was that if these were the kind of examples I had seen when I embarked on my spiritual journey I would probably have just jumped ship.
I remember tweeting a long time ago “A long time ago, someone lied to me about God, I’m still trying to fix it.” I still find this true today. Here are some things I know for sure- God doesn't want you to stop being YOU. He wants us to have joy in our lives, to live full lives, lives that are abundant in love, kindness and happiness. God cares so little about our outward appearance; he cares that we love him and others.
All those little quirks about you, your funky fashion, your crazy hair, your several colors of nail polish, your explosive laughter- they make you special and as long as what is inside you is good character – love and kindness; God doesn't care if you dye your hair blue. So you can understand why I was so sad to hear about this lady who stripped herself, of herself in the name of “God” , I just hope her character was given an overhaul too- otherwise it was all for nothing.
I'm not saying your belief shouldn't have an effect on your outward appearance- depending on who you are it might- what I'm saying is that the inner work should begin first and be focused on more, then it may now start reflecting on the outside.
God has given us the gift of life and we better enjoy living it.
(I rarely talk about my spirituality as it's a deeply personal journey for me so I ask that whatever your beliefs are you keep your comments polite. Thank you for keeping this a safe space)
Love always,
Sabirah.
OMG! Sabirah this is so me!!!! I dont understand why people make up all these rules about how you should look.God cares about the heart because it affects everything else.Its about being changed on the inside and becoming better on the outside. Since I got closer to God, Im happier, less angry and much more forgiving.Never mind that I have more piercings than the next person. I hope my rambling wasnt too random..LOL
ReplyDeleteI totally love this. Like Fara said, I don't know why people make up all these rules. They're choking and oppressive. I don't think there's anyone who gives their best when they're under duress. I'm by no means a perfect person, but I'll like to think that God loves me for who I am and I deeply believe that our spiritual journeys are personal and shouldn't be hampered by the thoughts and suppositions of others.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sabirah for this...I hope we all find what we're searching for.
Simply awesome. I totally relate with this post. What is going on inside matters more.
ReplyDeleteIt always amazes me how we've managed to make all these rules.
ReplyDeleteMy friend's mom joined a church and burnt all her gold and gave away all her nice clothes. The church also shuns weaves and other forms of extensions. A friend's sister joined the same church and my friend is so worried that her sister looks so dead now, and she's at war with the family with her new found path.
Before your new saviour, the man that made this your new church was born, there were many others. Is it to say that the gates of heaven did not open before your church?
It is up to everyone to make their own relationship with God. I can only hope more people focus on what Jesus really came for, our souls.