Beauty

After a day at the *beach* all of us Americans were commenting on how we finally got a tan while in China. The Chinese students however looked at us and mentioned how sorry they were that our skin was darker and some of the girls moaned in pain when they saw that, despite their best efforts, they had gotten a slight tan (people here use Umbrellas everyday to shield them from the sun - some even took umbrellas into the pools!). It was a funny time with us trying to tell them it was beautiful and them trying to reassure us that our pale skin was beautiful. It's funny how cultures value what is rare. Physical beauty is so subjective, different cultures value different things. And the criteria for choosing beauty is typically a feature that is not common. This is so sad. Why can we not just enjoy and uphold the beauty found in all of us? We were all created to resemble our Father and because of that we possess (a small part of) his beauty. When will we learn to look at ourselves and see the beauty that we were created to show?

There is a gardener who works at New Day. His story is a beautiful one and I'd like to share it. His story, for us, starts with a Nanny at the foster home. When the foster home began, New Day hired woman from the village of QuinYinDian to be nannies. They spent a lot of time trying to pick the most qualified and those who could be helped the most. One woman said that her husband had been in a horrible car accident. He had barely survived, but he did. Her husband however, was badly burned and most of his body had been scarred, grafted and rebuilt. While he was healed on the inside, his outward appearance was forever changed. He lost his job and was unable to find anyone who would hire him due to his extremely ,unique, appearance. At one point he was on an elevator and two ladies got on with him. They began to scream when the saw him and got off on the next floor. After that experience (and the countless stares he attracted) he seldom left the apartment. This woman was looking for a job because her husband was unable to get a job.

New Day hired this Nanny. They also asked what skills he had – her husband had worked in landscaping for a while she said. Unbeknown to her, at this time New Day was also looking for a gardener. They convinced him to come to an interview -during it he wore a big hat and seldom looked up, he spoke very quietly. They called him back for a second interview (he was really the most qualified out of all their prospects). This time he looked up a little bit more, though he was quiet – he was shocked that he was getting a chance. As I'm sure you guessed New Day hired this man. The first time I saw him I stared at him in wonder – he was obviously disfigured but possessed a spirit of boldness, joy and laughter. I wondered how someone who had obviously been so much could still retain such a strong personality. This gardeners life has been transformed by the volunteers and workers at New Day who simply saw his beauty (and New Day has been transformed by his gift of nurturing plants and his attention to detail). What more encouragement do you need to go out and look for the beauty in everyone?

Love,
Kelli Lynn