The photo above captures what my husband Rob has {unaffectionately} christened our house tattoo.
He has minimalist ideas & was aghast at this wall art. He doesn’t realize (yet) that it’s removable, so for now, ‘Life is beautiful’ is our home’s tattoo.
‘Life is beautiful’ -not in a Pinterest perfect,whimsical,shabby-chic sort of a way.
But, ‘Life is beautiful’ in a messy,lovely sort of way-a deep beneath the surface beauty, surviving the battering storms, rising from the ashes.
My favourite film ever is Life is Beautiful -or should I say La vita e bella- for the original is in Italian with English subtitles. Roberto Benigni became an Academy Award winner in 1999 for his role as Guido.
Hearing the sunny Italian greetings in the piazza, in the film, instantly transports me to Orta. And reminiscing about idyllic holidays, counting blessings beside the blue blooming hydrangea.
In the film, Guido’s wonderful life takes a grim turn when he & his wife & young son are taken to a concentration camp. Yet, even here, he manages to make life fun for his son.
As time marches on, we have marked over seventy anniversaries of the liberation of Auschwitz. If we held a minute silence for every victim of the Holocaust then we would be silent for eleven and a half years.
While this tragi-comedy makes us laugh-out-loud in places, it in no way diminishes the horror of the Holocaust. By focusing on the devastating effects on one family it makes poignant powerful impact.
The film portrays how Guido chooses to make life beautiful in the darkest of places for his wife Dora & son Giosue
Our life is beautiful-because God is making it so:
‘He has made everything beautiful in its time.’
(Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV)
Everything- the good, the bad & the ugly can be made beautiful by our Creative, Redeeming God
The verse continues:
‘He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.’ (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV)
In ways we cannot fathom, beyond our understanding God creates beauty for time & eternity-that we might know Him:
‘Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.’ (John 17:3 NIV)
In the pressure & grind of mundane, daily life, I often loose my bearings. I can’t see the beauty. I get easily annoyed by trivial problems, nuisances, & IT hiccoughs.
I can’t see the wood for the trees. I can’t see the blessings though they are all around.
‘Sometimes all we need is a little perspective’ -as Jones in the Noticer says
Somedays, I’d be transformed with even an ounze of perspective!
And God can give us a glimpse of His perspective. He can lead us to higher ground:
The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. (Habakkuk 3:19 NLT)
He can help us soar:
But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
(Isaiah 40:31 NLT)
From these heights:
We can see His purposes, rather than our problems
We can see rainbows rather than thunderstorms
We can see the exquisite tapestry above rather than the tangle of dark threads underneath.
We can trust His promises & trace His grace.
And truly see:
Life is beautiful
Blessings,
Ruth x
Updated from http://www.blessedme.co.uk
Blessed! 