“Her smile lit up the room. She was smart, articulate, and passionate. Her love for the Lord and His truth oozed out of her. When she would chime into our weekly Bible study discussion group, everyone’s eyes were trained on her and their pens quick to jot down her latest string of words. They were always poignant and timely. Easy phrases that broke through the tangled mess of thoughts and brought it all down to a solid truth of God we could sink our teeth into.

Her story was sweet as well – newly married and joyfully moving into a newly renovated house with a dream view. She was radiant and exciting, polished and elegant, with a little feisty mixed in to keep things interesting.

I will never forget the day she allowed herself to be vulnerable in the safety of that little group. Between pauses to collect herself, fighting raw emotions brimming, she shared truly painful pieces of her back story, some wounds sliced and gaping open afresh that very week.

Her bright eyes glistened with tears as she described the burden she felt for the very ones who pierced her heart – longing for them to know the Savior at any cost. Yielding to God’s perfect plan to reach them, even if she would be hurt in the process. Her pain was palpable. Our hearts broke with hers.

The group surrounded her with the very truth she had poured into all of us. Without discussion, our conversation for that week’s passage was put aside so we could take her hand and pray, crying out to God to hold and heal His daughter and draw the hearts of her loved ones to Himself.

Not surprisingly, we ran late that day, closing our little gathering well past our usual time. There were hugs and tears and apologies for ugly crying, making a mess of any makeup we had applied that day.

BUT there was nothing ugly about it. I will never forget the true beauty of that day! One heart broken open to invite the rest of us in. One life, real and raw and still smarting from fresh wounds, yet willing to rest in the One who had given His own life to redeem ours. A trust so real, so deep that it led her to willingly endure pain, so others can know the Savior. …”

“How interesting that the most beautiful moments are NOT scripted, are usually unexpected, unplanned, and often horribly inconvenient…”

Link to full post, including other reflections from Christine Hoover’s book, “Searching for Spring: How God Makes All Things Beautiful In Time” by Baker Books, 2018:

https://coverofHisPresence.com/2018/09/14/unexpected-beauty/