The sky is a pool of blue this morning, it's endless quality front and center. The large tree standing as upright as possible with arms stretched to the sky, seems so insignificantly small in contrast. So many intricacies below such an open clear expanse. It reminds of the contrast we live in between the complex and the simple. Too much to think about or take in below, our gaze moves to the heavens. It offers a soaking simplicity that permeates the soul and spirit, and restores the senses to see the complex.  Simplicity has restorative power.  So does heaven. 

What simplicity can you seek out to soak in? 

The sweeping purples and grays of the clouds against the pastel blue sky add dimension to the otherwise clear canopy above.  The green trees and houses are accented before this backdrop, their grainy texture looking worn against such perfection; the kind of wear called "character." I'm drawn to the smooth beauty of the sky but intrigued by the quality of the greenery. Both have beauty, both hold unique attraction. How often we strive for what we perceive as perfection, but uniqueness is what draws attention.  A possession none is without.

How are you unique? In what way is this uniqueness displayed?

One bird chases another into the tree, out of the tree, playfully sparring and they fly off. Below a couple walk their dogs together, arms motioning in light banter as they await their dogs exploration.  One dog follows the other to investigate together something they are privileged to notice with their uniquely keen senses. Relationship is everywhere. And it exists at the center of all life.  Even the older man coiffed in a bright green vest riding solo on a bike quickly past, is in relationship. The bicycle, the road, nature and himself are all partners with him as he moves along. We crave and exist for relationship. This is God's desire from His creation.

What do your relationships say about you? How are you intentional about creating them?

The tree standing straight and tall in the ground has a small circle of grass around the trunk. The turf stands out as having a richer quality. Lighter in shade, mixed with darker brown from the dirt beneath it betrays the grass' unified appearance. It reveals the space where the tree long ago had been placed in the ground and the dirt had been replaced back in to stand the tree upright. This is much like when we make a change in our lives.  What was dug up has shifted. Even when we replace it, it is never quite the same. It can't be, or it would not serve its true purpose or add new beauty to life. 

What have you dug up lately? How will it make you stand firmer in the future?

Across the street a rooftop glows in the brilliant sunlight of the morning after the thunder. Every imperfection on the black gradient is illuminated for all to see. Warping, uneven shingles, lines where the seams are coming apart, all normally hidden in the typical daily perception, now shouting and fully exposed. The irony is not missed in our lives.  We can hide our flaws, ills, and even shame, in the darkness.  But, when we step into the light of truth about ourselves and our life we feel, and often are, vulnerable and exposed. Yet growth, change, and health require us to do so. To enjoy the sun we need to reveal our imperfections.

What might the light reveal in you?  What can you do do embrace it, or change it?

Along the sidewalk each slab of stone lies cleanly next to another.  The morning sunlight reveals the pock marks over each in a display establishing its uniqueness. Leaning in, the view expands to capture a tall flower, standing 2 ft upright, and pointing its blossom to the sky, and gleaming in the sun's ray. The orange flower has another bloom, tucked neatly next to it, not quite opened yet, like a mother and her child;  part of the same stem yet each unique.

Nothing made alive in God is perfectly identical to another, anywhere in this universe. Even in mans desire to create conformity and predictability, there is variation once life touches it. Creation's reflection of Creator.

How are you unique, and what power does that bring to your life? 

Droplets splattered on the window, residue of yesterday's rain lit up in the sunlight of the morning, appear like tears on the glass. With the beauty of the new day increasing they start to shine like decorative sprinkles on the scene behind.  I'm reminded how the joyful times we experience form new perspectives on the rainy days of our lives.  Memories of those times create a screen through which we see the light.  Maybe that's the point of them.  

What challenge or sadness in your life has enriched your perspective? 

The watercolor painted sky speckled with flying black spots paints a picture of stability, with straight brush strokes from one end of view to the other. The airplane ascending in the distance dares to disturb the stable beauty but cannot, as it drifts from sight. These clouds, appearing immobile, remind of the predictable in life.  How precious they are to us in a dynamically changing world, that introduces chaos unexpectedly. What can we count on? Only the artist.

What is keeping the predictable in your life? How is it serving you?

High in the sky a tiny silver speck leaves a long tail of white as it travels across the brilliant blue. Into the cloud it disappears, and it's gone; a momentary mark on its way, an impression to be noticed, while still here. Our lives can be like that. We sense our smallness when we preview the world around. But while we have the opportunity, we can leave a trail that is greater than our being, for all to see, that may change the patterns of this world, before it fades into the the heavens. 

Courage is contagious when it is for a good cause. Who is your role model and why?

More from "out my window..."

A chair sits on the grass facing a tree, waiting to be filled. The tree has a hollowed trunk eaten by decay from illness. The tree is sick, dying slowly, and the chair keeps vigil. Like God watches and sits with us, we, too, need to fill that chair, and concern ourselves with those who need our attention and love during the latter part of life, as transformation to to the next begins. Attention is love, and witness is affirmation. Comfort is found in presence, when attended with love.

A view from my morning window.  Food for thought:

Straight ahead a mourning dove, perched in a rotting tree, turns his head to his own back and begins to preen himself.  Picking and pulling, he cleans himself up then swiftly disappears from the tree. Across the street, the top of a tree otherwise hidden behind the house waves at the sky, as if trying to get someone's attention. 

We desire to be hidden where few would look for us, as we clean ourselves up. Then, as we stand clean and proud, being hidden frustrates, and we clamor for attention. Imagine the freedom if we stood in the light of self acceptance, in all states of being.  No one could miss God's artwork.

In front of the window, a pod "helicopter" spins downward as if enjoying the ride as it tumbles away from the trees. With no tree left with these pods anywhere in sight, it must have blown off the roof where it sat awhile. Across the street lies a bagged newspaper lying in the sidewalk, waiting. In a driveway, a trash can sits next to the lawn and flowering shrub where it must have accumulated brush days earlier, waiting to be emptied. All around us are things and people waiting for movement; waiting for life, for their moment to spin and be fully engaged in their purpose. Why wait? Do we only get one spin off the tree, or might we land on surface after surface if we jump off sooner...