I wonder if when people see our silhouette as Christian women that they can tell who we are. I wonder if they can see that we are lovely and reflect our Creator. Lovely in Contrast.
One thing about a silhouette is that it is usually black against a light background or vice versa. It shows up because it contrasts against the background it is against. To be lovely in contrast as Christian women, we need to contrast against the world.
If we become so like the world, we are just going to blend in. No one will be able to tell where we end and the world starts. There has to be a big difference to have a deep contrast. Keeping that contrast between us and the world will make us lovelier.
Lovely in Shape.
A silhouette portrait follows a shape. It is the outline of who we are and what has molded us. What do we have in our lives that have shaped how we think and how we act? Are we following the leading of the Holy Spirit? Do we depend on God's Word to mold us and help us to grow into lovely Christians? As mothers, how are we shaping our children?
Lovely in Details.
You've probably heard it said that "it is all in the details". The details of a silhouette portrait are partly what help us identify who the silhouette is of. What are those tiny details that reflect who we are as Christian women? Are the things we think, say, and how we act down to the very last detail lovely? Those small details sum us up so every little piece of our lives has to be in sync with Christ.
Lovely in Profile.
The profile of a silhouette portrait is normally from the side and shows that defining angle such as from the hairline, down the nose, and on to the chin. When we see the profile of someone, it is pretty easy to recognize them.
Many of us have what we call "profiles" on our blogs, websites, or even Facebook, and other social media sites. Those are things we say about ourselves in order to sum ourselves up. In reality, people profile us by just observing us. They don’t rely on what we say or write about ourselves. They observe how we act, what we say, and take note of our behavior. Is that behavior lovely and reflecting the Lord?
A portrait done in silhouette is just the outline of someone and usually of just one angle. You don't get the whole picture. You see an outline of what that person would look like if you saw them in person instead of just as a shadow.
Everyone we meet or that comes in contact with us is not going to get to know us on a personal and intimate level, yet they will notice how we act and what we reflect. Will they see love, kindness, and compassion coming from us? Will they notice that we stand out differently from the world? Will they see we are a "peculiar people" (1 Peter 2:9)? Will our silhouette be lovely to see?
When it boils down to it, we draw our own silhouettes just by the way we live our lives. We draw the shape of what we want chiseled in our reflection. We decide what is to be cut out and what tiny details are going to be kept.
Nowadays with all the paint and photo programs, you can make a silhouette digitally, but in the past a silhouette portrait was made by using a bright light and tracing around the shadow of the person you wanted it to reflect. The closer the person was to the light, the more defined the silhouette would be.
Isn't that so like with us? The closer we are to our Light, the Lord, the more defined our silhouette will be. Some of those traits of a godly woman in Proverbs 31 will start surfacing. When we trust and rely on Christ, our silhouette will reflect what it should in contrast, shape, details, and profile.
So, does your silhouette reflect that you are a godly woman?
*taken and adapted from http://www.juliabettencourt.com
