This was an article that I (Grace) recently wrote for the Pulse Magazine (won't be published till Oct) but I thought you might enjoy seeing another picture of our time here.
It was a crazy and hectic day getting ready to leave for the Philippines for 4 months. I was sitting at a stop sign going over my lists in my mind, when out of the corner of eye I saw this young man (twenty something) walking down the sidewalk. As he reached the busy corner, he stopped and did something amazing. He turned towards this beautiful flowering bush beside him, buried his face in the flowers and took time to “smell the roses.” As quickly as he had come, he was gone, but his simple action stopped me in my tracks. It had been some time since I had just stopped to smell the flowers.
Within two weeks I was in the Philippines (Cebu City) overwhelmed by the noise, the indescribable smells (I had forgotten how bad it was), the dirt that is so much dirtier than anywhere I know, the relentless humidity and heat, very unusual food, the glaring poverty, my communication skills that were down to only the simplest of English words, rarely finding what I needed in the store, and wondering what we were thinking when we said we would come for 4.5 months. One of the long term missionaries told me that it took her at least 6 months to see any beauty here.
God quickly reminded me of that young man with his face buried in the flowers. Rather than focusing on the obvious problems and issues with this culture I needed to take time to see the beauty around me. So, I have tried to keep my eyes open to the “flowers”, because I’m just not sure I can “smell” the flowers here. In fact, because of pollution the flowers don’t have much of a smell but they sure are beautiful to look at!
Here are some of the “flowers” I see around me. The beautiful smiles of the Filipino people, even in the direst of circumstances; the most delicious fresh fruit; people happy to have a job even if it pays less than $1.00/hour; our students who desire to serve the Lord even when it will mean a life of poverty; the amazing flora – the flowers that grow wild here, we can’t even grow in our homes; how the Filipina can get her white clothes so white – I can’t even do that at home; the most beautiful children who love to smile and laugh; how it can pour buckets of rain yet still be warm; the warmth and friendliness everywhere we go; the gratefulness when you give the taxi driver a 25 cent tip (which is a generous tip); the smiles when you try to say a few words in Cebuano; the warm ocean water; the song of the gecko when I go to sleep at night. As I focus on the beauty the list continues to grow.
Our camera takes amazing pictures, not because it is a great camera, but the pictures take away the smell, the dirt, the noise and just show the beauty focused on. That’s how I want to look at life and at people.
Canada has amazing beauty, and we often take it for granted, but God did not stop creating after Canada. He created beauty in all parts of the world, and in all the people of the world. Often our lives are so focused on what is right in front of us, or what’s next on our “to do” list, or the issues that we face today that we forget to take time to see the beauty around us even when we don’t think there is any beauty to see.
What are your circumstances today? Have you become completely bogged down in your stresses and problems? Are you overwhelmed and discouraged? I encourage you to look around and make a list of the beauty around you and take the time to truly see it, give thanks, and soak it up. These times of reflection renew us in our perspective and rebuild our reserves.
Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits — (Ps 103:2)
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