Winter

Winter

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Facelifts and Other Thoughts


Today I thought I would talk about plastic surgery.
I remember when I was a young girl going across the
street with my cousin to take a neighbor something
from my aunt. I don't remember what it was but
the neighbor looked like she had went face first
through a wind shield. Though we tried not to I know
we stared, open-mouthed. We stumbled back across
the street and told my aunt and she said,
"Oh she just had a face lift." It think sometimes
bitterness can creep in and change the way we look
on the outside and how we react to others.

Then I read that what makes a woman beautiful isn't what she
looks like on the outside but who she is on the inside. "Let it be
the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet
spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. " (1 Peter 3:4)

In order to counter-act the effects of bitterness, I turned to the Bible and began
a study of David. I knew that if God called David a man after His own heart there
had to be a reason and I wanted to find out that reason.


So as I was reading about David and his remarkable life, I read about his early life
and being a shepherd in the fields, killing Goliath and then there is this all of the
ups and downs of David running from Saul and some of the mistakes and victories
he had.
Finally after a long time he is finally king of Israel. I was thinking about David as
he lived in rocks and caves with his mighty men and how close there were and
how loyal they were to David and all of the trials they shared together.
But in the spring when David should have been out in the fields with his troops as
commander, he is walking around on top of his walls of his palace and he sees
Bathsheba bathing.
In 2 Samuel 11:2 has this strange sentence, "And one said, "is this not Bathsheba, the
daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" I don't know why I pondered this,
but I have a love of the genealogies in the Bible. I enjoy reading them and going
over the lists. So I started digging.

What I found was this further in 2 Samuel the whole story of Absalom and how
he betrayed his father David, but the name Ahithophael kept coming up I kept
digging.
Why did he betray David and became a confidant to Absalom?
Then it dawned on me, bitterness had come to live in Ahitophaels heart, and the Bible
says of this once great man.
(2 Samuel 16:23,) " And the advice of Ahitophael, which he gave
in those days was as if one inquired of the word of God so was all the advice of Ahithophael."

So I went to the genealogies and you know what it told me?

Eliam was Ahithophael's son, and that Eliam was the father to Bathsheba who
was the wife of Uriah the Hittite who had been one of the men loyal to David
who had lived in the caves and the rocks when they fled from Saul.
Poor, poor Ahithophael was Bathshebas grandfather.

So I wonder that day when David should have been at battle and he sees
what he sees on the roof and the one says isn't this the daughter of Eliam?
Could that person have been Ahitophael? Just something to wonder if he
was such a person of importance to David. So he sides with
Absalom and God confounds his words and the rest of the story is sad.

Ahitophael goes home on his donkey and gets his affairs
in order and then hangs himself.
But as I continue to read, I see the effects of bitterness on the lives
it seems to touch and it is a very sad thing if I ever begin
to let circumstances of life make me bitter.

I love history my favorite being Biblical history. I love finding
these little tidbits that are buried in scripture and digging always
brings these little gems. I thought I would share this today just
because I have enjoyed reading the life of David so much.
I hope you have a great Tuesday!

Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, for His wonderful works to the children of men!

(Psalm. 107:6)

8 comments:

Razzberry Corner said...

Kim,
You have really brightened my day! I love studying the Bible for tidbits like this. Biblical history is my very favorite, too! I really would love to find a good church that studies things like this; sadly my church doesn't offer this. This post was very interesting and has really encouraged me that there are people out there who are interested in the Bible in the same way that I am. Sometimes I think I am alone in my search for others who have the same interest as me.

Thank you for the info about bitterness. I hope and pray that I never grow into a bitter person.
~Lynn

Sue said...

Good Morning Kim,
I love to read Old Testament history especially the life of David. And always find something new hidden in Gods word.Thank you for sharing these beautiful thoughts today.
Your photos are spectacular.
Hugs,
Sue

Patrice said...

Bitterness can eat you away from the inside out. I've often found that it does far worse things to us than to the person we're made at. My better half has a degree in Biblical History.

Regarding facelifts- I'm not thrilled that certain things on my face and body aren't where they used to be. I often joke about having cosmetic surgery. My mom had a few friends who had face lifts and they looked horrible. They all looked like they had been startled by something. One woman had been over-lifted to the point where she could no longer smile. I don't like the effects of aging, but some of this is ridiculous. I hate when I see or hear that a young person has cosmetic surgery just to be "perfect". I have a young beautiful relative that has had two procedures and she was so pretty to start with. I think people often do that to exert some control on their out of control lives!

TexWisGirl said...

I don't know much about the bible history (have a hard time even knowing my own family lineage) but I do know I'd never go under the knife for the sake of beauty.

All of my lumps, sags, wrinkles, and grey hair are mine. I've earned them. I'm 100% natural, homemade imperfection. I have the best beauty item on the planet no matter what - the smile I inherited from my mother. And if that gives me more creases in my face, then I'm a lucky woman. :)

Kent Island Red said...

It's always SO obvious to spot someone with plastic surgery (especially a facelift) isn't it? I noticed a lady (younger than me) getting into her car as I was walking out of Walgreens a couple of weeks ago and could tell she'd had her lips "done" (injected or whatever they do to make them fuller) and it just looked totally ridiculous. Like the wax lips we used to get at Halloween when I was a kid back in the Dark Ages (LOL!). I swear I wanted to say "What did you do to yourself - and WHY?" They were just so puffed up that they didn't match the rest of her. The problem with all that stuff is that once you start, it requires constant maintenance and you have to do more and more and more. Seems kind of silly to me.

Kessie said...

I'm afraid of becoming a bitter old woman. I have examples all around me of what it looks like to grow old and bitter, and it's not nice. There's that verse somewhere about those roots of bitterness that get in your heart, and to dig them out before they affect the Body. I've tried to be very careful not to let any roots get started in my heart, and my overall mood has been a lot sunnier without any roots hanging out in there.

That's really interesting about that advisor dude. I love it when you start digging and putting two and two together. I think it's why I enjoy Chuck Missler so much, because he always trots out little gems like that.

Julia said...

Kim, I admire yor interest in Bibical history. The history doesn't interest me but it does my husband. He spends hours everyday just reading and studying the bible and because he is so interested he remembers all sorts of tidbits. He's more religious than me but he says that I'm more spiritual than him. I like the dailyshort reflections but I carry them with me during the day. Got to get back to work. JB

Verde Farm said...

Kim, you are so right about bitterness. Bitterness is debilitating and can cause people to make very bad decisions although they feel very justified in them at the time. Really interesting post :)
Amy