City love

"life in the country
sweet memory
simple kid far from the city
still the best of me"--Unknown

Moving from South Caronlina suburbs into Ontario countryside wasn't quite as difficult as I'd intially imagined. Back in South Carolina, I used to drive my old Ford Taurus out to the lakefront, my guitar in the backseat, and sprawl out on the scratched and worn red hood, feeling as if I had all the time in the world to soak in the eternity of the sky. . The beauty of the clouds as they caught up with the colours captivated my senses and it was there that God was most real to me. .The other place that God was most real to me was the beach.

"I'm sitting here on the shore,
I cast my eyes against the glare,
gray angels plummet,
skim the sea and soar into the air.
This canvas of blues,
no stage could give a better seat,
the sky's not just above me,
it's reflected at my feet. . .
I whisper to the wind,
as it tousles my hair,
I trace footprints against the glimmer of the sun,
until they are no longer there."-B.W

Anyways, you get the point, I feel God's embrace through His creation. Since I've moved out to Uxbridge, Ontario, I have fully fallen in love with the countryside..Big gorgeous skies, man it fascinates me.

So on Wednesday evenings, upon finding myself in the city of Toronto, closeted by buildings thrusting their sharp and domineering figures into the sky, I feel a bit turned off by it all, to be quite honest. At least I used to feel that way until lately. There is nothing captivating to me that touches me the way the sky does. sure, the city impresses me with its high quality structures. But it is only recently that God has been opening my eyes to beauty within the city. A couple weeks ago I was riding the subway, and reflecting on the fact that I missed seeing God's beautiful creation. It was at that point that I felt God say, "Look at my people I've created. You're surrounded by them. There is so much variety and beauty in my creation." It was a stunning realization. And yet I found it hard to put into practice at first. I began to observe people and their different features but after I had established that there were many different faces, I just couldn't feel the same appreciation that I did for God's nature.

God encountered me a week or so later through two different very different people, in two different places and circumstances within the city. It was through these encounters that I saw Jesus enter the city, and point out the beauty of God's creation to me through these people. Since these encounters, God has opened my heart up to the city, and now I go with the hope that He will prompt me in some way to share His love with His creation. It is a beautiful seed that has been planted in my heart. I can't wait to see how God will further this city love.