I was traveling this summer with my family. We had our cell phones with us all the time, and since we were outside of our regular service area, the message on the screen of my phone always said, “Digital Roam” or “searching for service” or something like that.
After looking at “Digital Roam” on my phone nearly every day for 4 months, I was quite surprised when I turned my phone on the day after we arrived back in Canada. It didn’t say “Digital Roam”. It said, “Hi Beautiful!”
I had to take a second look. Sure enough, the banner on the screen of my cell phone said “Hi Beautiful!”
That day had been a particularly hectic one, with trying to unload all of our stuff from our little u-haul trailer, get a few things out of storage, and make it to my son’s afternoon doctor’s appointment. I was feeling anything but beautiful. Tired, a little grumpy, rushed, maybe even a little lost as we tried to figure out how to settle into another temporary place, but definitely not beautiful.
Seeing those 2 words on my phone got my attention. I started to argue with myself, saying in my head, “Yah, right… beautiful… not! I’m anything but…”. Right in the middle of it, there was, what I call, a “check” in my spirit. I can best describe it by saying that it was almost like a hiccup in my heart. It was one of those times when something literally stopped my thoughts in midstream.
I sensed that the Lord really wanted me to see those words. It was like He was saying, “Please pay attention.” In the midst of the busy-ness of the day, I was being nudged to pause, stop my own ramblings, and listen to the Lover of my Soul. So I flipped the phone open and looked at it again.
In the back of my mind, Song of Solomon verses started rolling around:
“How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful!” (Song 1:15)
“All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you.” (Song 4:7)
I couldn’t remember the exact verses. But, what I could remember was how the Lover gushed about his Love, and how beautiful he thought she was.
This was all pretty much in a second, taking almost no time at all for the thoughts to come, then to be interrupted and redirected. It was almost confusing, except that there was a peace surrounding it all, even in the middle of the hubbub. I didn’t ‘feel’ any more beautiful than I had just a second before, but I did know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the Lord thought I was beautiful, and for some reason he wanted me to know that right at that moment.
It took me a few minutes to remember that it was actually ME who had put that message on my phone, months before. I had the urging to do so, as a fun reminder to think of my husband, who often says “Hi Beautiful!” to me. Every time I flipped my phone open, I would see that message and think of my sweetie. That was pretty cool and fun.
Now, I open my phone and still think of my husband, but I also think of the One who loves me even more than my sweetie does. I see those words “Hi Beautiful!” and I hear the Lover of my soul speaking them to me.
But that’s just me, right? You might be saying, “That is a nice story, for YOU. I’m not beautiful, and if God thought I was beautiful He sure hasn’t told me about it.”
Guess what? I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He thinks you are beautiful, too. Just ask Him! I didn’t even ask Him and He told me! He loves you, cherishes you, and is crazy about you. (You can’t be any of those things about someone if you don’t think they are beautiful, you know…!) He says, “How beautiful you are and how pleasing, O love, with your delights!” (Song 7:6)
And knowing that He feels this way about you, there’s only one thing left for me to say to you:
