I received this newsletter post from Patricia Durgin and it brought tears to my eyes.
I asked her if I could pass it along to you and she graciously said yes. I hope it will bless you and help you see yourself through God’s eyes.
How Does God See You?
by Patricia Durgin
[email protected]
In 1945, Dorothy McGuire and Robert Young starred in a movie about a disfigured war veteran and a homely young lady.
Oliver and Laura were their characters’ names. They had an unlikely meeting when Oliver and his fiancée visited the cottage where Laura was a maid. The cottage was to be the couple’s honeymoon destination. But World War II broke out before they could be married.
During his service, Oliver was injured; his face horribly damaged. His fiancée left him, so he returned to the cottage to recuperate from his wounds. In time, he and Laura fell in love and were married.
Shortly after their marriage, they discovered something wonderful. Oliver was no longer disfigured, Laura no longer homely. Each was a perfect specimen of their gender–still themselves–but handsome and beautiful.
Overjoyed, they shared this miracle with their blind neighbor who was there the day Oliver’s mother and stepfather came to visit. It was then revealed that indeed, this couple, so in love, was still defective and plain.
How could it be? Each time the camera panned to Laura as Oliver spoke to her, she was radiant, her hair styled and make-up glowing. Then, when anyone else spoke to her, she was shown as her former frumpy self, complete with a dowdy hairdo and no make-up.
The same thing occurred when Laura glanced at Oliver. Instead of a tragically distorted face, she saw him as he’d looked the first day they met, handsome and strapping. But when anyone else in the room addressed him, the camera showed him to be fully scarred.
What was the catch?
They credited the cottage. It had been used exclusively by honeymooners for hundreds of years. Laura and Oliver felt that the love of those collective couples through the centuries had miraculously caused their change.
“Isn’t this the secret of the cottage?” they asked the landlady, who had stayed there on her honeymoon twenty-five years earlier.
“No,” she answered, “You’ve fallen in love. A man and a woman in love have a gift of sight that isn’t granted to other people. Keep your love burning and I promise you, you’ll never be anything to one another but fair and handsome.
“That’s the charm. That’s the secret to the only enchantment the cottage holds, and it’s of your own making.”
The title of the movie is The Enchanted Cottage.
This is how Christ sees you. Others see your wrinkles and paunch if you have them. 🙂 Perhaps you move slower than you used to, or your hair isn’t naturally dark brown or pale blonde anymore. No matter.
Christ sees you as only a beloved can. Winsome and lovely, or handsome and dashing.
You are the treasure for whom He died. He cannot view you through any other lens.
The love the characters in this movie have for each other creates a new reality; something that others cannot see, yet it’s absolutely real to them.
Do you need a new reality? A fresh start?
Invite the members of the Trinity to speak to you and then listen for the voice of the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit, for they are the lovers of your soul.
There is no fairy tale life on this earth. But their holy, perfect love can, at times, make this world seem enchanted.
They may be the only ones who see you as you really are, but then, they are enough, yes?
Thanks for joining me on this journey.
–Patricia
Guest post written by Patricia Durgin, Founder of Marketers On A Mission (https://marketersonamission.com/) originally published in EABooks Publishing newsletter (https://www.eabookspublishing.com/).
https://www.eabookspublishing.com
Amen. I love this line! “You are the treasure for whom He died. He cannot view you through any other lens.”
How marvelous, how wonderful! That the first post I read remind me of my worth in Chris and the lyrics of a childhood favorite welling-up from within, “…precious in His sight…”
Danielle, I’m so excited that you found my blog and the Lord used it to bless you. That blesses me! Also, thank you for subscribing to my posts.I loved hearing how you heard that wonderful wording about your worth and value to Him. There’s so much comfort and strength in knowing that truth. God bless you and I trust the Lord will continue to use my posts to strengthen your walk in Christ.