Beautifying for God?

I'm getting ready to leave to go on a Prayer and Pampering retreat just for women. It's something I probably wouldn't ordinarily do. The prayer part, yeah, I need it. But, I have never been one for pampering myself. Why? Well, pampering to me always seemed very self-indulgent. Why should I spend the money on 'pampering' myself, getting a massage, getting my eyebrows waxed, etc. when there are so many other 'wise' uses for my time and money? The one luxury I allowed myself was to have my nails done, and even then I didn't get them done as often as I should. I always felt guilty. But, I thought, "well, if everything else looks bad, it won't matter 'cause at least my nails look good."

That reasoning seemed to resonate in my spiritual life, as well. I have always spent just enough time 'beautifying' my heart for God so that at least one area of my life looked good. Sure, I've had retreats alone with God, where I've spent hours in the mountains or on the beach, praying and reading. But, I don't think I have done that strictly for the purpose of beautifying myself for God. It's always been about me. My time with God. Getting my life in order, and so on. I am learning that it's not about my time with God, but about His time with me. That's the key! He is the orchestrator of this whole relationship...yeah, He gave me the freewill to chose to follow Him, but when I gave Him my heart, I also (supposedly) gave Him the keys to my life, as well. He is now in control and that certainly takes the pressure off of me. So, why shouldn't I spend time "beautifying" my whole self for God? Is He worth that?

I guess I was right when I said that pampering can be self-indulgent when you look at it the way I did. But, when we switch our focus from ourselves to others that we love, it becomes an act of service. It can become an act of worship. At least that's what I hope will happen this weekend.

So, bring on the massage, the pedicure and whatever else is going to take place. I'll suffer through in the name of Jesus :).