I live next door to a house that attracts certain people. It’s a small house. No yard, basement or second floor. It has wheel chair accessibility in all the doors.
Recently an older lady moved out and another one moved in. She’s old. She has lived a whole life and I always wonder about her story as I’ve only grabbed ahold of a few bits and pieces. She has grey hair and shuffles and most of the time I struggle to understand her, (I think she wears dentures).
It had been a rough day for me. The heat had still yet to dissipate over Atlanta as I walked my children to the mailbox. Something to do in an already rough morning. Honesty I just wanted to check out, to put them in front of the tv or make them take a morning nap. And there she was. Heading out on the arm of a nurse that comes to her house everyday. The nurse that makes sure she hasn’t fallen and that she’s eating.
My daughter being the social butterfly walks right over to talk. I don’t know if it was the heat that day, the exhaustion factor or the plastic sparkly jewelry of my daughters contrasting next to the bathrobe of the older person, but the contrast in front of me was striking. It was also, beautiful.
Here it is in front of me. ALL of life. In that moment I saw everything and wanted to grab hold of every blazing hot second of that crazy rough toddler day. “Soak it in, Kate.” I told myself. “Because in a blink of an eye, that’s it. from 3 to 30 to 85.”
I ran back into my house chasing toddlers and grabbing sippy cups. The little old lady shuffled slowly back into hers. I had laughs and tantrum’s and piles of laundry to deal with the rest of my day. She had a hair appointment and tv, to finish hers. The stories she tells have been interesting but it’s also a reality check that the stories she tells are always over while mine are still in the making.
What’s my point? What are you griping about, frustrated over, or just plain over looking that through the eyes of another person might be treasure on earth? I know that little old lady would kill to be back in my shoes. Lets not miss the beauty of the mess. The reality of our fleshy, physical existence. It’s what makes us human. It’s Christ incarnate that meets us in those moments. And it’s those moments that are the most important.
Soak it in. Relish. Treasure. Live. Feel. Adore. Don’t miss one moment!
May the hard days, and the rough days, and the mundane days of our existence be the place where we create faith, beauty, love, hope, and our very own stories. A life marked by God’s grace and goodness.
“The spiritual world is connected to the physical world. The common factor connecting all things is true love.” – sun myung moon
Creating Exceptional 