Beauty and Affliction

According to one of my favorite authors, John Eldredge, two things pierce the heart, beauty and affliction.

Now please don't get me wrong, I know what true affliction is. I've had my share. So, thank God that today affliction looked like this. Waking up to dog blood (warning, it gets worse) speckled on the floor and a pony sized stinky pile of poop. There, I said it, one of the most taboo words - POOP.

Trying to get out the door to a meeting I was delayed a bit by a 'discussion' with my husband. Then I found the car on E. Now I was really delayed.

Later at the work office, I accidentally picked at a healing scratch on my face from when the cat bit my face the other day. Yes, my face. And now it wouldn't stop bleeding. I needed to put the tissues in the bright red bio hazard trash can. I was a hazard.

In between here somewhere there were some good parts, nice people and a laugh with a co-worker.

Later, after figuring out an insurance bill while driving home from a grocery stop in 95 degree heat, I stopped to mail the payment in the nick of time to avoid a lapse in coverage.

I arrived home sweating in my dress clothes, even in the AC somehow, only to find that one of the cats used the large indoor palm tree pot as a litter box, also that he is awful with his burying aim as evidenced by the pile of dirt on the floor and the uncovered pile of disturbing POOP. Yes, disturbing, that's all I can bear to say about that.

Some more good parts came in about this time, along with Dave and I going off on a run together. I had put a few more songs into my running playlist that I hadn't heard in a while to keep me occupied for when Dave would pass me in the run. So, 10 seconds into the run I got to let the tunes play (in one ear, don't worry). And here is where beauty pierced my heart today.

The song Hallelujah, by Kate Voegele, came on and, I don't know, maybe the serotonin was kicking in too, but I got goosebumps. "Love is not a victory march, it's a cold and a broken hallelujah." Goosebumps.

Same thing listening to Susan Boyle sing "I Dreamed a Dream" on Britain's Got Talent. Seriously, if you don't get chills listening to this, in a good way, check for dark spot on your soul.

Beauty and affliction. Two more ways God reminds me that He is here for me.

Photo by Trevor Lee, TrevorLeePhotography.com