See Beauty

The beautiful country of Haiti was quickly disappearing beneath us. Those hot sweaty days full of praise and encouragement were in the past.  I began writing down memories and special moments during my time with the Haitian people.  Quickly I began to realize that after each paragraph I would write the simple statement - "It was beautiful."

Jesus was teaching my heart throughout this trip - to see beauty.

After checking into our accommodations the first day, a couple of us went down to look at the ocean.  A palm tree arched across the sky framing the blue ocean tones and casting shadows over a small row boat.  My heart delighted in the beauty of what was in front of me. 

Then I heard voices by my side.  

“Look at all the trash!” 

I brought my gaze closer to shore and realized, to my surprise, that the beach was completely littered with garbage.  It was piled in heaps and scattered across the shore.  A stark contrast, one that I would continually encounter - beauty next to brokeness.

At first glance I hadn't noticed, I was too enraptured with the beauty of the ocean.

I felt Jesus was asking me to look for the beauty, notice beauty, focus on beauty.  He created this land and called it good, He designed these people and loves them.  Of course sin has come into the world, perverting and masking what God originally created, but it doesn’t change the fact that there is beauty in everything God has made.

As I walked through neighborhoods, drove through the crowded cities full of poverty and mess, I couldn't help but see each person differently.  Not a single person was an accident.  Clearly, each human being God creates has value, potential and ability to use their life to glorify God. 

Will I choose to see the beauty that inhabits all of God's creation, or the brokenness that threatens to overcome it?

What will you choose to see?