Under the dirt

My school planted tulips recently in a central location of campus. For a while the bulbs remained deep in the soil. From the surface we saw nothing, but nevertheless they were there, under the dirt.
Quickly the flowers started to break the surface. The bright colors stood out due to the contrast of the mulch that surrounded the flowers roots.
Soon everyone started noticing the buds & quickly the pastel peddles captivated the student body.
I sat at a table in the library facing the window. Quick glances provided an escape from finances and summer school. The flowers wouldn't normally capture my eye but their demand for my peers attention sparked my interest.
One after one I watched boys & girls stop, pull out their phones and try to capture the "beauty". Zooming in getting a personal shot, editing it & soon my Instagram feed was full of this perennial.
I'm not saying that these flowers are not beautiful, but what is ugly is the fact that sometimes beauty is overlooked.
Someone asked me what my definition of beauty was. I paused and thought hard. For some reason when I think beauty I see the bride of Christ. I see the holy and perfect church we as believers will assemble in heaven. And that's easy, defining beauty as that, but then I thought harder.
My definition of beauty is that which is not defined as beauty. Because Christ saw me, more like a weed than a Tulip. He stopped & He decided I was beautiful.
Sometimes our lives are much like the winter. The trees are just branches, the streets are consumed with slush and steam. The flowers are all gone & the scenery isn't "beautiful". But does that mean nothing is beautiful or does that mean we don't see it.
Maybe what's beautiful is really what is ugly. Or maybe we are ugly for insisting that beauty be appealing.