Appearances

I know it’s been a while since I’ve rambled. To say the past couple of weeks have been challenging and interesting would be an understatement. I’m not going to get into all that other than to say, I am thankful to have a God that never seems to get tired of listening to me and a bike that gets me where I need to go.

This morning after my coffee I decided I needed to run to the Post Office and of course that meant on the bike, as the car was now in the shop. Initially I was just headed to the PO and then home, but of course that didn’t happen. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the air was crisp and clean, not to mention I had a full tank of gas and a brand new front tire that needed to be broken in. What better way to do that than on a curvy country road on a Saturday morning! The traffic was light and it just felt like a perfect day for riding. I rode that same curvy road I mentioned recently that my hubby had told me to check out. This time I was a bit more familiar with it so it was even better, knowing what to expect as far as curves and turns to take, no dead ends today.

As I rode along I was thinking about pictures I’ve recently seen and articles I’ve read about bikers wanting to add some “bling” to their bikes or do some custom painting or decals to “make it theirs.” I have a purple decal of a woman biker that is praying at the cross while kneeling next to her bike on my windshield and a little white lamb wearing a Jesus Loves me shirt strapped to my passenger seat but that’s as personalized as mine gets. Other people want to modify their bikes to make them louder, perform better, or any number of other things.

As I was thinking about this on my ride today and looking at other bikes I met on the road, I was thinking how we do the same things to ourselves. We do things that may change our appearance; tattoos, piercings, manicures, make-up, weight loss, etc. While all of those things may alter our appearances, they do not truly affect who we are. We are the same person on the inside no matter what we look like on the outside. If others judge us based solely on the outside, they are missing out. We live in a world that is so judgmental based on what others see on the outside. If I was covered in tattoos and piercings and weighed 100 lbs more or 100 lbs less, I would still be the same person on the inside, but I would be seen by others differently. Jesus loves us for who we are, not what we look like. We are all made in His image; Genesis 1:27- “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

We are not what others see on the outside and we are not our past. I don’t believe there is one person living who doesn’t have something in their past that they would change if they could, or something about themselves that they would like to be at least a little bit different if they’re honest about it. I know both of these statements are true for me.

I also mentioned modifications that some people want to make to their bikes to make them “better.” We can also modify ourselves to make us better. We can change our attitudes, the way we think about ourselves and others, the way we react to circumstances we find ourselves in, and the list goes on. Personally, thanks to God, I have learned to be silent more. Silent so I can hear Him better, and also silent at times when, in the past, I would have had to make my point or speak my mind. Sometimes silence is a much better option. No reaction to certain things in our daily lives can be so much healthier for us mentally than reacting or sometimes even over-reacting. I wish I had learned this sooner in life, but as they say it’s better late than never.

I am still a work in progress on the outside and the inside and I am grateful that God is always there, no matter what storms I may go through. He has never failed me and I know He never will, even though I fail Him daily.

Deuteronomy 31:6  “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”