We live in world driven by practicality. Everything must be efficient, easy to clean and inexpensive. People want quick meals, comfortable clothing and bargains. Sadly, one of the results of this compulsion to be practical and get to the bottom line is that beauty has been trampled to death.
The American Heritage Dictionary offers several definitions of practical including: Designed to serve a purpose without elaboration; Level-headed, efficient and unspeculative. Some synonyms for practical would be sensible, utilitarian, functional, and pragmatic.
Here are some of the definitions of beauty from the same dictionary: A pleasing quality associated with harmony of form or color, excellence or craftsmanship, truthfulness, originality, or other, often unspecified property; Appearance or sound that arouses a strong, contemplative delight; loveliness; A person or thing that arouses such delight; a specific excellence or grace. Some synonyms for beauty are artistry, grace, loveliness, fairness, style and winsomeness.
Now which one would you rather be?
Francis Schaeffer wrote a little booklet called Art and the Bible in which he discusses the idea that art matters to God and, more specifically, beauty matters to God. In the section called “The Temple”, Schaeffer outlines some of the instructions God gave for the building of the temple. There were a number of things that were not utilitarian and actually served no useful purpose other than to be beautiful! There were two large pillars topped with woven chains with a hundred pomegranates attached to the chains. The inside of the temple was overlaid with pure gold and the temple was decorated with precious stones (2 Chronicles 3:1-17). What purpose did these have? Their purpose was to be beautiful.
As a Christian woman, one of the greatest gifts I can give to my husband and others who come in our home is a beautiful, restful environment. I am always looking for small ways I can make our home more beautiful. Sometimes we do spend more than was “necessary” because we find something beautiful that ministers to our spirits in an artistic way. Other times I find beautiful things for very little money. The key is finding the balance.
There are so many ways we can make our environments beautiful and it doesn’t matter if your style is traditional, country, American primitive or hodge-podge! It doesn’t matter if your clothing style is classic, country, English or prairie. Each can have its unique charms and beauty. Here are a few things of beauty I have done around my home.
Bedroom: We have very nice high quality cotton sheets, edged with embroidery, that I always iron before putting on the bed. I would not have believed how luxurious ironed cotton sheets could feel! Ironing is one of my least favorite tasks around the house, but I wouldn’t dream of putting the sheets on the bed without ironing them. They feel too wonderful that way! We also invested in a down comforter and down pillows. We LOVE to climb in bed each night. It is better than any bed and breakfast we have ever visited.
Living Room: I try to keep a vase of fresh flowers in the living room as often as possible. Lately I have been buying a lot of tulips! They last about a week so we are able to enjoy them for a long time. Flowers, especially in the winter months, are such a thing of beauty and definitely refresh our spirits.
Dining Room: I have been making an effort to use a tablecloth and special dishes more often. I have china that we picked out when we were married and I also have my grandmother’s china. There is no point in letting them sit in the cupboard collecting dust so we use them!
Kitchen: When we were on vacation last summer I found two small glass dishes in an antique store. We thought they were lovely so I bought them. I use them several times a week to serve fruit. They aren’t practical because they don’t go in the dishwasher and I have to be careful because I don’t want to break them. But we enjoy them each time we use them.
Feeding the Birds: As I mentioned in previous entries, we do a lot of bird feeding. It is not a free hobby. But to see the beautiful birds throughout the day is worth the expense.
Clothing: One of my favorite things to wear is a high quality worsted wool long pleated skirt. I find them very comfortable and versatile, but they are not practical financially. They are much more expensive to buy and they are expensive to take to the dry cleaners, especially when I have to pay to have them pleated. But I still buy them and wear them. Why? Because I feel like such a lady in them! They flow and swirl. They are beautiful! I love them! Even if they are not practical, the joy I receive from wearing them makes up for the “cost” of owning them.
Well, those are just a few of the things I thought of off the top of my head. There are so many little things we can do to add beauty to our lives and the lives of our families.
It has been interesting to see how interest in Jane Austen and similar authors has been running very high in recent years. I think part of the interest in movies such as A&E’s Pride and Prejudice and theatrical releases such as Sense and Sensibility and Emma is because women are starved for beauty! We watch these movies and secretly wish that just a fraction of that beauty could be a part of our lives. I truly believe that as women we were created to admire and seek beauty. It is natural for women to want to surround themselves with beautiful items in their home and to enjoy dressing in beautiful clothes. Sadly, our culture slowly beats this natural inclination down in us as we buy into the practical and busy pace of life. The little girl who loved dressing up as a princess is transformed into a sloppy college student who wears jeans and oversized shirts and sweatshirts every day who becomes a harried mom in black running pants and an oversized denim shirt. Is that really how we want people to see us now and remember us when we are gone?
Is there a place for practicality? Of course there is! It is practical to make dinner in the crockpot on a busy day. It is practical to put a mat down on the floor if a messy baby is getting ready to eat. It is practical to put old clothes on when you are painting. But our life should be governed by more than just practicality. We should try each day, in some small ways, to reflect the beauty of God and the beauty of the world that He has given to us, written on our hearts.
13 comments:
Oh so true! Having lived much of my married life as students, we put off much of the decorative touches to our homes as we've moved about. But now, living in the winter grey days of the Pacific Northwest, I am finding myself so hungry for simple beauty on winter days. Although no longer students our budget is still greatly limited. Fortunately, and through God's bountiful blessing, we live near a great second hand store. I have slowly begun to acquire some items that really refresh my eyes and spirit and just adds that little touch that puts your mind at rest amidst the chaos of city living.
Terry,
Thank you for your comments! I enjoy buying seasonal items on clearance and have boxes or bins for each of the seasons too. I love it when Labor Day weekend rolls around and I can get out the fall things! You are so right about making the intitial investments and then having them to use for a long time.
Lastly, I really appreciated your pointing out that your small touches promotes cheerfulness among your family members. Well said!
Blessings to you and your family!
Dear Anonymous of the Pacific Northwest,
Thank you for stopping by! I can relate to trying to bring peace into your home in the midst of the city. We live in the city as well in an older home. The homes are very close together and the neighbors on the living room and dining room side have the most hideous fake brick siding you can imagine (think early 1900's). Fortunately and unfortunately we have large windows in both rooms on that side of the house. I'm not going to live in a cave so we do open the blinds to those rooms each day. I just try to keep plants and flowers in those windows so our attention is drawn to them instead of the icky view. Right now we are growing some paperwhites so we are busy watching them grow an inch or so a day. Hopefully someday we'll have some country views instead!
You are so blessed to have a good secondhand store nearby. God is good!
What an inspiring post!
Lovely post! I found you through LAF's website. Blessings!
Beautiful article. I know how simple decorations (even inexpensive ones) can really change a room around and make it more cozy.
What a great article. I agree with all you say. I try to do the same and was taught to value beauty by my wonderful mother. I too have a dreadful view of a messy house next door. I planted a hedge so that in a few years we won't have to look at it, but can instead enjoy the shiny, evergreen leaves and small pink flowers of the Escallonia plants!
I am a huge fan of making things look pretty, infact i wouldn't have it any otherway. But what i think it is important to remember is that you dont always have to wear nice clothers, and surround yourself with pretty flowers and things to be happy. Long lasting happiness comes from alot more than just material things.
It is amazing how God works. I was just yesterday comtemplating the beauty of my home and how much I like my wardrobe of ankle length dresses and skirtsm, most of which I have sewn. But also I was thinking about why " Pride & Prejudice" movies etc.. are becoming so popular. My children boy age 11, boy age 7, boy age 5, and girl age 3 absolutely love them. They do not want to wear shorts to play in and like to dress up around the house and be gentlemen and ladies. Of course when we have tea and cakes also helps. But also how these movies people view as romance when they are nothing more than the way you lived your life at that time. ( amazing how womens lib has changed the world.) Women do not really want romance they want a man that performs the basics of civility and its customs of past periods. Or atleast that is what I have finally figured out that I want.
May GOD bless you and yours!
While most people would agree with being practical in various matters, it would be interesting to ask if being extravagant is a Biblical concept.
I would have to say that there are some examples of extravagance in the scriptures that I believe most Christians overlook.
When Jesus was visiting a certain home with his disciples, a woman poured an jar of perfume over him in an act of love. The disciples were very "practical" at that moment and immediately lectured how this perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor. But notice what Jesus did, basically he rebuked the disciples for being so practically-minded, saying that what the woman did was a beautiful thing. Imagine that! The poor "neglected" for the sake of something extravagant.
I also find another passage in the Gospel which implies extravagance on Jesus' part and this is during his time of crucifixion. After all the beatings, whippings, scars, carrying the cross, etc., you would think that the clothes Jesus wore would be worthless, not even worth using as rags. But it's written that the soldiers cast lots for them! Why in the world would lots be cast for the clothes (I know, I know, there's a prophecy in Psalms that gets fulfilled by this statement) except for maybe they were really good clothes, and all they needed was to be (really) cleaned. That's the only thing that makes sense to me.
My point is: it appears that Jesus endorsed extravagance in his life at times, and we shouldn't be afraid of doing so, either.
Thank you for your lovely site and your wise words. The concept of "Two Talent Living" has been especially insightful to me at this time in my life. And as for your post on the beauty of everyday things, you spoke my heart. I have seen so clearly the value and worth that God attributes to this virtue.
God bless you for this sweet ministry to feminine hearts...
Just chiming in to thank you for reminding us all that the effort to make our homes beautiful is worth it! I'm enjoying reading through your blog--found it through the LAF link.
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