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Crossing Cultures Devotional Memoir

Looking for beauty

We’ve lived in places of extraordinary beauty.  The spectacular so commonplace in my daily view that I forget what I have. Right in front of me.

Then there are the other places. The hard, trashed out, desert places. No electricity on the hottest days. Water shortages. Just plain, hard living. 

I forget in those settings too.  Forget to look for the beauty.

In my last post, I shared part of that journey to find it even in the unlikely places.

And through a variety of countries and cultures along the way, I’ve learned a few simple things.

Categories
Crossing Cultures Devotional Memoir

Missing beauty

“Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing; You hold my future. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance” (Psalm 16:5-6).

Beauty? Our first year of living in Karachi, my eyes saw the sand and dirt. Trash along the roads. The walls and buildings that matched the browns of a desert landscape.  

two boys standing on a street with trash littered all around
Street scene. imb photos

Nothing seemed pleasant. Or beautiful. 

I decided “pleasant places” must refer to the believer’s spiritual condition. Certainly not physical surroundings. Not this desert megacity, anyway. 

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Devotional

Trust Me

In the midst of the move, fears slip in. Without permission. A thin thread of doubt weaves its way through my mind. Second guesses undermine trust.

Trust in the One who leads us.

“Be sober-minded, be alert,” Peter says (1 Peter 5:8). Somedays I’m catching my breath and need this reminder. Front and center.