Shipyards aren't inherently beautiful places. Our walk to church today involved dodging trucks and puddles of questionable liquids. Outside of the port gate, as we make our way through the part of the city called Kaloum, the sidewalk is strewn with trash, and is missing pieces at random intervals, exposing the sewage below. As we walked, passing vehicles swept dust across our feet and into my shoes (Which, combined with sweat, turns into mud. In my shoes. Fabulous.)
But sweat eventually dries, shoes can be scrubbed, and clothes can always be washed (or just hung to dry, depending on the weather!). If I am writing a blog post to complain about the mud, I am living on the wrong continent!
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| Abby, Flavio, and Nicole on our way to church, with the ship in the background. (I don't think I was supposed to take this photo, in hindsight. Ports are sensitive about that. Whoopsie!) |
Let me start again. Shipyards aren't inherently beautiful places. And do you know what I mean when I say, big cities in general are not inherently beautiful places? But when I take off the blinders, put on the breaks, beauty suddenly infiltrates, and it's impossible to ignore.
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| A container ship in the right place at the right time. |
I remember about 2 years ago when I was living in a house in Saint Paul, our neighbors had a construction project going on. For months, there were outhouses, heavy equipment, and raw materials everywhere. But as I went out to my car each morning and saw the sun rising over the "mess", the light changed the whole picture into a scene that can only be described as heavenly. The phrase that came to mind was "the Beautiful Ugly".
How could I possibly pay attention to the ugliness of the pieces when I felt so captivated by the beauty of the whole picture?
These are the moments no human can plan for. Do you know anyone who would say "I'm going to impress my neighbors with a beautiful yard, and I think I'll do that by covering it in blue tarps and plywood scraps!"
Although I never got a picture of the construction site in my neighbor's yard, I did find a few examples in my pictures from the past month. I want to get better at capturing the things that stir me that much.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
-Psalm 139:7-8
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| Pictured: A beautiful sunset over the island just off shore in Conakry. Not pictured: A beach below the frame covered in no small amount of things left behind that don't normally belong on a beach... |
When you walk around Kaloum looking for the Ugly, you'll focus on sewage and dust and trash, and if you're in a position to ameliorate those things, there is a place for focusing on that. But the Beautiful is also ready for those that look for it--in the way the sunlight befriends the dust as it is kicked up, the brightly-and-beautifully-clad mamans in the market, the two tiny feet of a sleeping little one sticking out on either side of her, friends enjoying each other with no other agenda, and the eccentric dashboard decorations in the local taxis.
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| On a trip to Kribi in Cameroon. |
One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.
-Psalm 27:4
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| Abby making friends at the tailor's (aka. the place with the most fun people-watching) |
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| a 7am Skype call on a Monday (yawn) where Ally the Operations Director and Dr. Gary the Maxillo-Facial Surgeon shared why what the ship does is important (aaahh :D Nothing like listening to such thoughtful leaders to calibrate your perspective) |
Your eyes will see the King in his beauty
and view a land that stretches afar.
Look on Zion, the city of our festivals;
your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved;
its stakes will never be pulled up,
nor any of its ropes broken.
There the Lord will be our Mighty One.
It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams.
No galley with oars will ride them,
no mighty ship will sail them.
-Isaiah 33:17, 20-21
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| Fabric sellers on bottom, tailors on top. There was a constant overtone of sewing machines. |
Full disclosure, as I write this post, I'm conscious of feeling a bit "gushy". Maybe I'm just more emotional than normal because someone dear to me left the ship this week. But then again, the beauty of God is something very worthy of our excitement. It points to something bigger than whatever beauty we're beholding.
Someone on the ship referenced a quote. I can't remember where it came from for the life of me, but the story has stuck with me, and it very much applies here:
As someone watched the sun rise one morning, they prayed and told God, "Thank you for this painting." God answered, "You are part of that painting, enjoying it."
The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains,
The world, and those who dwell in it.
-Psalm 24:1
When was a time when you noticed a "beautiful ugly"? I'm really interested to hear if reading this has brought examples to your mind. Pictures are welcome!
That's all for now. Enjoy this second-a-day video of our first full month in Conakry!
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