Beautiful Things

It is really easy for me to walk along in this life and see all the ugliness in people. It is probably one of the easiest things to do. Sometimes we even do it without meaning to or without realizing we are doing it. And that is a result of the sin that entered the world long ago.

But what I want is to make an effort, every single day, to see the beautiful things in people. I want to see the beauty of the ocean without realizing all of the debris and oil and ugliness of it. I want to hear the wind in the leaves and not notice the trash blowing on the ground beside it. Because there is an incredibly beautiful world out there, and if I spend all of my time looking and searching for the ugliness of everything that I am surrounded by, then I am living an ugly life.

I want to see the beautiful things about a prostitute. I want to notice her heart and the battles she has fought and won, not the fact that she gets paid to have sex. I want to get a glimpse of the unique and charming qualities of the homeless man on the corner of the street, not condemn him for making poor choices in the past to get him to where he is today. I want to step outside of the person that I've boxed myself into being and come to life. I want to take risks and make statements and live a life without abandon that will allow me to truly be free and mean it when I say, God, You make beautiful things, and I am so in love with You and everything You've made.