Every time I drive down the freeway I pass something I only sometimes recognize. Strewn along the freeway median are discarded bits of clothing, mostly hats that blew off or solo shoes. How they find themselves along the freeway is a mystery. They are almost always old and tattered. They have had had some value to the person who lost them, but now they have left that person's possession, and they find themselves on the side of the freeway being run over and blown about.
There is a story in the Old Testament that reminded me of this today. In Jeremiah 13, Jeremiah is asked to wear a beautiful waistband and take it to the Euphrates river to hide it. He does this, and later, God tells Jeremiah to return and get the waistband. Only when he does, he finds the waistband to be ruined and "totally worthless".
Verse 11 says, "For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah cling to Me' declares the LORD, 'that they might be for Me a people, for renown, for praise and for glory; but they did not listen."
God's people are made to cling and connect to Him, and when we cling to Him we find our beauty, value, and purpose. We highlight God and are highlighted by our connection to Him.
When we are disconnected from God, we lose a part of our beauty and our purpose. We feel and sometimes ARE lost and discarded.
Stay close and connected to God's heart, and you will always see your purpose and beauty.
