paravanes:meditations

We forget so quickly that we are God’s beloved children and allow the many curses of our world to darken our hearts. Therefore we have to be reminded of our belovedness and remind others of theirs.”—Henri Nouwen As much as I love this quote, I notice the author uses the word “darken” to suggest something wrong, inferior, and undesirable. In many cultures of the world, dark skin is not seen as a desirable or naturally beautiful feature in women and girls. The legacy of dark skin in the United States is a particularly tragic one, in which girls and women who have dark skin and are of African descent (especially those whose ancestors were enslaved in early American history) are devalued, ridiculed, or socially rejected and economically disadvantaged because of their skin color. As we are now rolling away from Black History Month in the States, I am considering the question someone posed: does God love dark skinned women less than other women? “… we have to be reminded of...

 --Promo piece for Dark Girls Recently, I viewed (for the second time) the D. Channsin Berry/Bill Duke documentary " Dark Girls ." It was a painful view, but I felt compelled to watch and listen carefully because I could identify so deeply with much of what was said. This message rang through the film: there is something ugly and unpleasant about being a "dark girl". This does not mean dark girls are ugly or unpleasant. Still, much of what is presented in this film shows how differently dark girls experience life. Generally speaking, these differences are not considered positive ones. I think there was much truth and painful honesty in this film, but a part of the story is missing. Since Lupita Nyong'o won an Oscar, made a famous and well-documented speech , and appeared on several fashion magazine covers, I have listened and watched many women describe how triumphant Nyong'o's story is: she is the manifestation of dark bea...

Ladies, when you look in the mirror, what do you see?  If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, your answer can be “I see a beautiful reflection of God when I look in the mirror.” Why is it so difficult for so many of us to easily and honestly give that answer? Perhaps no one has ever told us we are beautiful reflections of God. Reflections of God must be nothing less than beautiful, if we believe God to be beautiful. If our God is beautiful, surely we must share at least a sliver of that beauty in our physical selves. We can see it every day and acknowledge it with gratitude and grace. Do we let the world tell us what is beautiful? Did some of us get mixed up and lost at that point?  Basically, the world tells all of us that only a very tiny number of us are (or ever can be) truly beautiful and the rest of us must spend some of our spare time imitating, adoring, watching, and obsessing over “the beautiful.” When we are finished with the obsessing and ...

 Many thanks to Fay Johnson, who shared her incredible magazine, Deliberate LIFE, with me. Now, I get to share it with you! Have you ever felt a little “disappointed” after reading a lifestyle magazine? Did you finish up thinking you could never emulate the images and ideas in the articles? Did you decide to live in fantasy land, rather than attempt to copy or be inspired by something apparently out of reach? Deliberate LIFE offers another option: clear, easy to read articles highlighted by warm, inspiring photos illustrating graceful living, eating, and travel experiences that are reachable, do-able, and totally worthy of pursuit.    As I read through the magazine, I was reminded of how God’s goodness is expressed in the choices many of us have and too often take for granted. Yes, we have to eat…and for most of us, that means cooking. But it doesn’t always have to be a chore. It can become a little bit of adventure in taste, smell, and sharing. A g...