Eyebrows

I queued up a devotional this week about money. But last night I was doom scrolling old pictures of my babies and I thought, “Aren’t eyebrows so weird?!”

I asked my favorite AI bot what eyebrows are good for. First answer: “Shield from rain.” No, robot, that is not a thing.

Second answer: “Shield from sun.” Maybe robot doesn’t know about the Texas sun (bless its heart).

3. Communication

4. Facial Recognition

Ah, yes! This. Eyebrows are an almost completely useless biological feature that’s completely essential to our beauty.

For God so loved the world, that he gave us eyebrows (and then his only begotten Son). Because finding beauty in each other, communicating with each other, and feeling known and recognized by each other is so vital to our belonging on earth.

It’s funny how something as small and strange as an eyebrow can remind us that beauty is the echo of a Creator who pays attention to every detail.

I had to go all the way back in my 1881 bible to find the right translation for Ephesians 2:10. This word, “workmanship,” was translated out of the Greek word poiēma (ποίημα), the same root as “poem.”

We are God’s poetry. We are his art.

As a mom and a woman (especially coming up on holidays), I find confidence in remembering these verses. The beauty we seek to create in this world is a gift from our Father poet. God gave us eyebrows because they matter to the whole picture. And it’s not a waste of our time, energy, or love to want this beauty in our lives too.

Emily

Have more time? This word poiēma is used in only one other place in the Bible when Paul talks about the beauty of the world in Romans 1:20. The mountains, the oceans, the galaxies, every blade of grass, and the freckles on your child’s face are all his poetry too.