I’ve always been a late bloomer. From weaning myself off of the bottle to finally finding my calling, I’ve always taken my time with life. One of the things that I’m late to is a dedication to continuing to educate myself by way of reading books. And what a way to start my journey by reading “Beautiful People Don’t Just Happen” by Scott Sauls.
Synopsis
This book is about God redeeming our negative experiences to make us better human beings. He writes that the regret, hurt, and fear that we experience in life can be made into something beautiful by God. In a culture that values outward beauty and success, we need to look for the beauty that comes from within and see how our experiences can help us develop compassion, empathy, and resilience. Sauls writes about the importance of faith and trust in God’s plan even during trying times. He encourages readers to embrace their experiences and see them as opportunities for growth and betterment. Sauls explains that God redeems even the worst and most painful experiences and that we can become beautiful people through the process of redemption.
What I Learned
1. We All Experience Regret, Hurt, and Fear
Everyone goes through difficult times or even traumatic experiences. We could let these things shape us either positively or negatively. While the larger culture values outward success and beauty, God looks at the heart and He teaches us that true beauty comes from within. What matters to God is that we allow Him to form within us a spirit of empathy, compassion, and resilience. These are the things that truly matter to Him.
2. Shame, Forgiveness, and Vulnerability
How many of us decide to put on a facade even though it feels like everything around us is crumbling down right before our eyes? Shame, forgiveness, and vulnerability are important themes in our relationships with God and others. We need to learn how to view these things so that our churches can have a better and healthier grasp of the theme of pain and hurt. Only when we view these things under the lens of God’s grace can we allow ourselves to be honest with God and others about what we’re really going through.
3. There Will Always Be Difficult Moments
Faith and trust in God’s plan are crucial in navigating difficult circumstances and finding meaning in our experiences. God can redeem even the most painful experiences and the process of redemption requires honesty, surrender, and a willingness to learn from our mistakes. When we see difficult seasons in our lives as opportunities to learn and be transformed, only then can we let God change us to become beautiful people filled with grace, faith, compassion, empathy, and love.
I would definitely recommend this book as we all find ourselves maneuvering through difficult moments at various points in our lives. It teaches us to trust in God’s wisdom in allowing us to go through trying times and see His redemptive power in turning these things and using them for our good. So when you see people who are filled with God’s love and strength, we can be certain that there have been several difficult seasons through which God brought them, because beautiful people don’t just happen.
