I was listening to a sermon online this morning on beautiful messes. One thing thing hit me in a new way this morning, I am a beloved child of God. He loves me in an unconditional way and wants the best for me regardless of where I am geographically. Living in a city as broken as Kolkata and working at a business in the middle of the red light district, I sometimes forget God is still good and still working and still wants the best for me as His child.
I have had this discussion with a wide range of friends at home and abroad. This topic has come up in Kolkata about how God does not expect us to have all the answers, but instead, to embrace our own messiness while working to see His beauty in this city. There are many times I feel so inadequate to be a part of the work in this city, but God can work great things through my inadequacies to help me see the beauty among the mess. As I walk through this city, most of my time is spent looking down to make sure I avoid stepping in all different kinds of messes that line the streets. The sweet moments of a Sunday morning stroll or walking through a less crowded corner of Kolkata are when I have the ability to look up to notice the beauty of the city. I see the bright, colorful saris hanging from the building as they dry in the afternoon sun. I see flowers blooming on a tree growing in the middle of a busy sidewalk. The view from our roof helps me change my perspective and the beauty above the chaos. The bright colors of the buildings are faded and slightly decayed, but yesterday I noticed flowers growing out of the broken bricks. It was a visual reminder that life thrives among the brokenness. I am challenging myself to see beauty even among the brokenness of my everyday walk through the red light district to Sari Bari.
As I write this, Christmas music is playing, the weather is turning cold and we are sipping tea. It has been a restful, life-giving weekend going to coffee shops and eating dinner with friends. I am ready to take on another week.
I will leave you with this picture of beauty among the broken. Happy Sunday!
I have had this discussion with a wide range of friends at home and abroad. This topic has come up in Kolkata about how God does not expect us to have all the answers, but instead, to embrace our own messiness while working to see His beauty in this city. There are many times I feel so inadequate to be a part of the work in this city, but God can work great things through my inadequacies to help me see the beauty among the mess. As I walk through this city, most of my time is spent looking down to make sure I avoid stepping in all different kinds of messes that line the streets. The sweet moments of a Sunday morning stroll or walking through a less crowded corner of Kolkata are when I have the ability to look up to notice the beauty of the city. I see the bright, colorful saris hanging from the building as they dry in the afternoon sun. I see flowers blooming on a tree growing in the middle of a busy sidewalk. The view from our roof helps me change my perspective and the beauty above the chaos. The bright colors of the buildings are faded and slightly decayed, but yesterday I noticed flowers growing out of the broken bricks. It was a visual reminder that life thrives among the brokenness. I am challenging myself to see beauty even among the brokenness of my everyday walk through the red light district to Sari Bari.
As I write this, Christmas music is playing, the weather is turning cold and we are sipping tea. It has been a restful, life-giving weekend going to coffee shops and eating dinner with friends. I am ready to take on another week.
I will leave you with this picture of beauty among the broken. Happy Sunday!
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