Look Up, Look Out

While doing the dishes at my home away from home in Texas, I realized I've always wanted a window to look out over the kitchen sink. Well, there in Texas, there is one. You can see the green lawn, frolicking children, rain coming down on the driveway, and the large statue of the Holy Family in the garden. But you still have to look up to see the beautiful view. 

 Such is life; we have regular work to do that can be monotonous and trying but if we just look up and around us, we will see the view life has to offer. It is so pleasant to remember to look up and out that window while you're doing the dishes.  I think this can also apply to our phones and technology.  I oftentimes reach for my phone to scroll on social media or just kill time while waiting for something.   I've come to realize though that I could be enjoying the world around me at these times instead.  God's beauty seems to be going to waste sometimes because we're so absorbed in our tasks and especially our own virtual realities.  Don't forget to put the phone down, look up, and thank God for His amazing creation.

Here at home, I don't have a window to look out over the kitchen sink, but I do look up to see a statue of Our Blessed Mother on the countertop and further up to see Our Lord hanging on the cross. These are also views we must look up to in life.  We can become so obsessed with the latest news, headlines, and world problems that we forget to take care of our own little worlds around us.  Do you think society is falling into disrepair?  Take a look around your house, laundry room, kitchen, or bedroom.  I'll bet there is something that has been neglected there.  (There is for me anyway. 😅 )  We worry and stress about things that are almost completely out of our control but we don't take the time to care for and fix the things that need it right at our fingertips.

Saint Mother Teresa is famously quoted saying,

If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.

Sometimes, this is all we can do.  And it is the most important thing to do.  When we love our families; not just in our words, but in our actions as well, we will lay the foundations that can change the world.  How do we love our families at home?  We must see Christ in them and love Christ in them.  No matter how they have hurt you or neglected you, they are still created in the image and likeness of God.  At the end of our lives, God is not going to ask us who hurt us or who took care of us the best.  Instead, He is going to ask you how you loved Him in this life.  And He asked us to love Him by loving, serving, and caring for those around us.

So look up and start to change the world around you.  Do that pile of dishes or laundry.  Greet your family with a smile instead of a frown.  Go the extra mile.  But no matter what you do, thank God for His blessings and strive to love Him as much as you possibly can.