'You make beautiful things out of the dust/you make beautiful things out of us.' -Gungor 'Beautiful Things'
A few of my friends who have grown up in the UK have mentioned that they like to spend time with me because I notice things around Glasgow that they haven't. Let's just face it, I'm touristy. I want to take photos of anything and everything that I think is unique in this city. There's plenty of that around! But I honestly believe that God has put me here to notice the hidden gems of Glasgow. Look up on Buchanan Street and you'll see the remnants of the 'last Victorian city' on Earth. The moulding, the sculptures, the stonework--it's all splendid.
Even the grimy bits of G-vegas appeal to me. The flower growing up between cracked pieces of pavement, the tiny hole in a fence in which a squirrel finds a hide-a-way, the grey clouds parting to make way for a foggy sunlight to peek through: they're all slivers of a pulsing city life that I have gladly become a part of.
God sees us that way. We are dirty. We are sinners. Yet he makes us beautiful. He raises us up on wings like eagles and gives us strength to not only face, but conquer each day. When I think of how much He loves us that He, the God of all the Heavens and Earth, would care enough to lift us to a place of peace and joy each day, and give us a destiny beyond our wildest dreams, I am filled with such an awe and gratitude that I have cried with happiness.
God has placed me here for a purpose. I have been so encouraged by all that's happening around me. People are seeking truth, fulfillment, rest. And they're finding it in the One who knows all mysteries, including the ones lurking in my own heart--in each of our hearts.
-C x
