1 Samuel 16:7

 God looks at your Heart
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

During the weekend, I love to go out and just take pictures. I don’t have a preference or “style” that I’m going for; I look for something that just captures my eye.

Some days, I get discouraged. If you look online, you’ll see tons of beautiful pictures that are open, and full of space.

Living in the city, you don’t come across that often.

Often I find myself wishing for the quietness of country living. Just wondering what the simplicity around me would feel like.  To snap pictures of my surroundings without all the noise.

When I feel like this, I have to step back. I have to look at the world-my world for what it really is.

And it is beautiful.

I took this picture looking out of the door of my dentist office.  At first, it looked cluttered, and disorderly and dreary.  It was raining, and everything was soaked.

 In our everyday lives we try to find something simple to focus on, something “beautiful” but there is nothing completely orderly about our lives. 

We weave in and out of things, stores, homes, cars.  Our lives are anything but simple.

But in this picture, it’s like everyone weaving together.  The train tracks on the left, cars parked by the curb, people walking on the sidewalk, and in the background, cars waiting at a red light.  All doing things within their own space, but complicating the space around them.

I realize that I’m not going to wish for something that I don’t need, because if I needed a real change in my surroundings, and really wanted that change, then I’ll be making moves towards it.

[Tweet ” If I needed a real change, and really wanted that change, then I’ll be making moves towards it.”]

But deep down I don’t want it.

Brooklyn is a unique City in the City. Still part of the hustle and bustle of NYC but it has a slowness to it, that allows you to look around to appreciate its differences from Manhattan.

Noise, I found out is in the ear and eyes of the beholder, and beauty, well, is what you find in your heart.

[Tweet “Noise, is in the ear and eyes of the beholder, and beauty, is what you find in your heart.”]

My Sunday Prayer:

Dear Lord,

Everything around us, holds the beauty of your creation.  Allow us to open our minds, and hearts to take in this beauty in its own form, and appreciate the complexities as well as the simplicities of life.  

Amen.