The Girl They Call Ugly
Walking through the Squatter Camps is an ugly sight if you are looking at the surface. But it is when you look into the eyes of the people, the hands of the men working manual labor jobs, the worn shacks that house large families that you see something more.
At first you would not see it as a beautiful place. You would see trash beneath every step you take. You would avoid stepping on broken alcohol bottles. You would jump over puddles of “grey water” which contain fluids you never want to see in an open pathway.
As we walk, we ask for discernment. We ask God to lead us to those who need to call on His name. People who need to be encouraged. People who do not know how to go on another day.
God has given me the gift of discernment with children. I saw it in Lesotho when He led to me to the starving, abused, dying orphan. He pointed her out to me. And this day in the Squatter Camp was no different.
There she was. A 3 year old girl amongst a yard of several children laughing, playing, dancing. This girl had no emotion. She stumbled when attempting to take steps. She did not desire to play. I picked her up and asked who the mother of this child was. A woman stepped up and said “I am.” I said “your daughter is beautiful!” The mother laughed, pointed, and responded – “no, she is ugly.”
This was not the first time the little girl has heard these words spoken over her. My heart broke. How could a mother say these words about her own child? Her own creation?
I began to speak truth over this beautiful little girl, telling her why God finds her beautiful. He created her. And He sees her as beautiful inside and out. She is radiant. I sang to her, danced with her, and played the few Afrikaans games I know with her. She is valued by the Father, and I wanted her to see that.
God sees us when we are broken and when we stumble. He sees us as beautiful. We are His children. His own creation. We are more than what the world speaks over us. We are what He speaks over us.
Song of Solomon is a beautiful example of God’s love for His Church, portrayed through a soon to be husband and wife. The husband speaks to his beloved – “You are altogether beautiful, my love. There is no flaw in you.” – Song of Solomon 4:7
That’s how God sees us. When He looks at us through what Jesus did.
He also thought each one of us up so intricately. He wove us in His image. He has made us fearfully and wonderfully. – Psalm 139
The Creator of all things and all beauty created this little girl. That is such a crazy thought to fathom. The God who created the mountains, the fields of flowers, the sunsets, the ability to bring humans into this world, the seas, the galaxies. He made each of us in His image. He looks upon each one of us as flawless and beautiful.
And we look at Him and say “I have found the one whom my soul loves.”
“…but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”
1 Peter 3:4-6
