After I was invited to have a Mary Kay facial for the third time, I finally gave in and had one yesterday. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it most of all because of the new revelation I had for myself! Now, you have to know some background on this in order to get the impact that it had on me.
Through out my years I have heard questions like, "Are you mad? You look upset." Or, "Why are you scowling?" This made me a bit self-conscious about how I appeared to others. Then about five years ago I discovered some deeply etched lines on my forehead and immediately concluded that all those people were right, I apparently went around scowling or frowning at the world!
So it was that yesterday, as I was getting my Mary Kay facial, I gazed at those deeply etched lines on my forehead and complained to my consultant about them. She looked at the lines as I went on to refer to them as 'frown lines'. To demonstrate that they were 'frown lines' I frowned, and looked at my forehead in the mirror for affirmation. I was amazed to discover that the wrinkles in my forehead that I expected to see were not there but were in a different location than the deeply etched lines! I played with my expressions trying to find the one that generated the deeply etched lines. Again, to my amazement, when I found the right expression it was the expression of surprise! I was... well... surprised!
I thought about the recent post I'd received on facebook. Someone I knew from my past - teen years, let's say, and leave it at that for now - had posted about a reunion she'd had over the previous weekend with a couple of other friends from that era of our lives. She had asked if my ears were burning, elaborating that she and the others had talked about me, assuring me that it was with fond memories. I responded that it demonstrated just how selective our memories can be. Thinking that that sounded somewhat negative, I elaborated with my meaning - that I was glad that they had such fond memories of that time in our lives. My memories had not favored me with fondness. No, to the contrary, mine were somewhat negative and had been for many years, resulting in me avoiding people from that era of my life. I thanked her for sharing that insight to how she and at least two others saw me back then.
Then my thoughts turned to a remarkable book that I recently finished reading, "Captivating" by John and Staci Eldredge. I remembered how it was stated that God would bring us back to times in our lives... in our memories, demonstrating to us, showing us how He was there all along - to which, I added, and showing us how He saw us as opposed to how we saw ourselves in those tainted memories.
I immediately felt so blessed... so... hugged! I was suddenly aware that I was seen in a much more positive light than God's enemy would prefer that I see or even remember myself! Those 'frown lines' were not frown lines afterall, but were instead, surprise lines! Because He is always surprising us as He continues to pursue our hearts, drawing us closer to His own heart. I thought, how appropriate! Surprise lines!
Now do I care that I have deeply etched lines in my forehead? No! Absolutely not! They are Surprise Lines!
