TOTHEUNTAMEDHEART.

There is a house down the road from us that is blue.

Think Robin’s egg blue, but times ten in the vibrance department.

When we first moved to the neighborhood, my husband and I had conversations about that blue house, like what do you think the neighbors think, are they visually impaired, you know. All the big questions you wonder when you see people do extravagant things in non extravagant places.

One day when we were driving home, Leo, my four year old, piped up in the backseat,

“Mom! I want to buy that blue house with my dollars!!! Let’s move there!!!”

His passion over this blue house is heartfelt and overflowing, excitedly telling us it’s his favorite color and asking if we can move there multiple times. His passion for this house has actually made me passionate for this house because every time we pass it, the joy and excitement he exudes… I want to watch him like that. When I think of little four year old Leo, I want to think about that blue house forever.

That blue house and the eyes that behold beauty that my worn in eyes that have been tainted by the classic art of comparison and all of the other things that dull the beauty and wonder in the world,

they leave me undone.

Seeing average things through the eyes of our children are whimsical and sacred.

Maybe that’s why Jesus called us to be childlike in our Faith. Because children don’t see things as garbage. They see treasures. Everything, everywhere, beauty, with no thing out of the realm of possibility.

When I was a little girl, we would go to my uncles. To put it kindly, my uncle was a collector of everything. My siblings and I would go running into the backyard to explore, and as we would make our way back there, the one area of the yard appealed to me the most. The area was overgrown, full of fallen down trees, car parts, tires, and all sorts of miscellaneous things that probably could have all just been thrown in a dumpster but to me, everything glimmered.

I want to un train my eyes to see the beauty in all of the things my mind has dulled to. I want to see the extraordinary value in the people and areas the world says are a waste to pour yourself into- I want to give to the places that have nothing to offer me back and see the beauty. I want to give to the people who don’t have happiness and thankfulness to give me in return and, still, see the beauty.

Lord, un train my eyes.