As I was sitting in front of my computer contemplating the idea of starting a blog, the thought of even coming up with a name intimidated me. What title would effectively reflect me, my interests and most importantly, my faith? You may be wondering how “The Beautiful Thistle” accomplishes that! Well, when I started brainstorming, I was at a loss about where to start! It was springtime, so naturally flowers were on my brain. Then commenced google search on flower names. Oh, there are so many types of flowers! Some beautiful, some plain, some common, some outlandish! Suddenly my eyes rested on the thistle. I knew that somehow the thistle would be the theme of my blog. I didn’t know much about that type of flower, but the more research I did, the more I realized that this little flower represented me in so many ways!
The thistle has been historically known as a flower that grows haphazardly, typically as a result of neglect and untidiness. It is often referred to as the perfect picture of the result of sin’s curse on the earth. It thrives in stony, uncultivated, imperfect conditions. The outer prickly, thorny appendages often dissuade people from exploring the true beauty and benefit of the flower. Yet as unwieldy as it is, when properly cared for, it can bring beauty and joy to those that choose to look upon it’s inner beauty rather than the outer shell.
As I read all of this, I couldn’t help but think of my imperfect state on this earth. Before coming to know Christ as my personal Savior, I thrived in this sin-cursed world. My sinful flesh was prickly, harsh and uninviting. The earth that I lived upon was scarred by the ravages of sin over the centuries.
But my creator God saw my desperate plight. He sent his son, Jesus Christ, to earth. Jesus took on the form of scarred human flesh, lived a perfect life as the God-man, and died a perfect death to pay the penalty of my sin. The pure, spotless Lily perished to give life to the thorny, cursed thistle. But he did not stay in the grave! My Savior conquered death and rose again so that I could live eternally with Him! It is a free gift from Him! There was nothing that I could do to rescue myself from my cursed condition, but Christ took the curse upon himself that I could have the opportunity to leave my stony ground for the glories of perfect heaven! What undeserved love and forgiveness!
Now, rather than being a reflection of the ravages of sin, God has made me into a beautiful reflection of his saving love! Yes, I still have prickles and thorns. I will not be completely free from those until I reach heaven. They are reminders that sin has indeed permeated every facet of the earth. But now the Lord has enabled me to bloom, showing forth His glory and testifying of His grace to a lowly sinner! He has peeled back the hardened outer shell to reveal the beauty of a redeemed nature. I am no longer at home in this world as a wild, untamed weed. Now I live in the rich, fertile gardens of God’s family and He cares for me! When he looks at me he sees the beauty the Lily that died for me rather than the cursed, thorny thistle that I once was.
I know this isn’t a flawless metaphor, but I hope that in a small way it shows how a small, insignificant, lowly being has been lifted up to glory by the love of a holy God! I also pray that if you have not embraced the free gift of salvation that you would receive Christ! He can make you beautiful too! No matter what kind of life you’ve had, Christ has already payed the penalty for it! All you have to do is accept him as your substitution which results in living for His glory! Christ will take the filthy robes of your life and give you his royal robes of perfection!
Now that I’ve told you about the most important aspect of my life, let me tell you a little bit more about myself. My name is Sarah. I am happily married to my best friend, Kyle. He is an amazing man and I could go on and on about how wonderful he is in every way! He has far surpassed all my wildest dreams of the perfect husband. I’m an only child with wonderful parents! In fact, all of my family is incredible and I love them all! I am privileged to have all 4 grandparents still living and one great grandmother still alive! I have special memories with 3 of my great grandmothers, which I cherish as treasures! Not many people can say that! I also married into a fantastic family. I have 2 (almost 3 now!!!) sister-in-laws and 3 brother-in-laws that are the best! They’re like the siblings I never had! Well, almost…we skipped to the fun part and didn’t have to go through all the fighting! :-)
I have very diverse interests. I work full-time so I don’t have a lot of extra time, but when I do, I enjoy spending time with my husband and family, reading, creating pretty things (jewelry, decorations, flowers, cards, etc.), being outdoors, chatting with friends, and so much more. I’ve also just started trying to branch out with my cooking skills. I tend to like to stay in my comfort zone, but have been inspired by others’ blogs and intend to break out! We’ll see what comes of it :-)
Well, this is much longer than I intended, but I still feel like I left much out. I guess all that will be divulged with more blogging!
May Christ be praised!
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