Thoughts from the land of Ire, day 3...

This morning I woke up and pulled a cord hanging from the ceiling to make the hot water come on in the shower.

My roommate and I are both noticing a slight change in our vocabulary. There was a spider on the ceiling this morning and I instinctively thought, "Look at the wee spider..."

One of the most enchanting things about this place is how lovely everything is... and I'm not just talking about the gorgeous landscape. Even the way they talk- the inflection of their words, the words themselves, and the stories they tell are full of color and life. I'm certainly no expert yet... but those who are tell me the culture in general places a high value on beauty. Just look at the buildings, the streets, the houses. They are not just functional, they are beautiful.

I am struck by how much of life I miss as an American, always rushing about and trying to check the next thing off my list. Sometimes I wonder if we trade the beautiful for the practical or the efficient. Maybe we are missing something.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things." Philippians 4:8.

Obviously the idea is not to make beauty an end in itself. But our art professor used the term "messengers of beauty" yesterday to describe the theological importance of the beautiful. Like the great cathedrals with the lofty ceilings that force you to look to heaven, I want to be a person that causes others to experience the beauty of Christ.

As Billy prayed for us yesterday...

Christ within me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
-St. Patrick