Beauty rarely comes in this form. Rarely does beauty come from the whims of an everyday walk in town, in the visitation of corporate stores. However, the day was not like every day. Today was a day that has marked to be special. Today was the day- the Lord revealed his most precious creation.
Wearing an old, baggy shirt, he entered the store searching for paint to use for his birthday decorations. One to fuss about ‘things being done the right way’, he organised his own birthdays and selected who will enjoy the festivities with him. Getting annoyed, he asked the shop assistant where the paints are situated. The shop assistant turned around to assist him. The glow of skin luring like honey coated vanilla ice cream, the extreme beauty that addressed him dumbfounded him. He became instantly mute. His jaw slightly opened, opened enough to exhale and inhale just enough air to keep him alive. For in that moment, the drop-dead beauty that stood before him- paralysed him.
“Hi, can I help?” The woman said.
“Hmm? Yes, yes, yes. Uhm, do you guys, ya, where can I find paint?” Fidgeting like a nerdy teenager, he replied.
“Follow me.”
“Follow me.” He thought to himself. The words ‘follow me’ sent his eyes rolling back into his mind. The words ‘follow me’ to him were as if she was leading him directly to her heart. He began to sweat as he envisioned how spacious and sweet her heart must be. He saw himself with her sharing a plate of food, seated at the park while discussing future plans together. He lost sense of reality as he followed her to the paint aisle. He thought he would follow her everywhere. He would follow her at the grocery store as they buy their food. He would follow her at their children school’s plays and sport events. He would follow her wearing a black tuxedo ready to say ‘I do’ in front of family and friends. He looked her with eyes that foresaw a world where he was, without any doubt, ready to follow her.
“Here we are.” She said with a smile on her face.
“Here we are. Your smile drips with sweet kisses yet to be felt,” he thought to himself.
“Well, I hope you find what you looking for.” She said not sure, if he heard her the first time.
“I have found you and hope you will stay.” He said to himself heavily lost in his thoughts.
“Ok then, have a nice day!” She said with a slightly faked smile.
Reality quickly rushed back to him. He realised she had left and was attending another lost customer. He felt his heart break into four pieces yet could not explain why it broke. He felt the need to go to her and tell her what he felt in those few seconds. A second can change your life was a lesson he’s business mentor once taught him. In that second he had felt an emotion that lay dormant for many years in him. An emotion that aroused his senses and awareness. In that one second, he felt the rawness of his masculinity.
The words ‘follow me’ sipped through the lips he imagined were as sweet as the honey that coated her skin. He stood and embraced the emotion that was flowing inside of him and thanked the Lord for allowing him to feel this emotion. This is an emotion that most men have forgotten how it feels. He believed that women were created to be beautiful so that men can appreciate beauty for what it is. It takes the romantic to admire the beauty of a rose for the rose resemblances the beauty of a woman. The beauty from a sunset over the mountain, the breaking of different shade of yellow and red as the sun sets is only rivalled by the smile and gently whisks of lashes embedded on women eyelids. The beauty in the world is a reflection of the beauty of women that God created. It is easy for the man to confuse the appreciation of beauty as lust. This lust driven by the mere desire to tint a woman’s beauty with his unworthiness. In beauty, we see the love of God. It is beauty, as men, we remember we were made in the image of God. Only women bear that key of remembrance. Through their beauty, we men have a purpose to our existence.
His soul now at peace and the unknown languages of the universe haven spoken to him, he picked up the set of paint and brushes, and proceeded to the till. The cashier behind the till was bent over the counter searching for an item unknown to him. He waited momentarily until the cashier reappeared from beneath the counter. There she was, with all the heavenly glory that stitched her existence into being. This time, he smiled and looked her with eyes ready to burst with tears. Tears he knew were from somewhere deep in him. Pride got the better of him and he looked at the screen:
“CASHIER NAME: Gina Kent”
“Gina Kent,” he whispered, focusing his gaze to the ground.
“Yes?” She replied.
“The Beauty of God.” He said to himself. But, instead, he looked up and with a faint smile replied:
“Nothing.”