by Sr. Sheila Campbell, MMM   Ireland   02.06.2022
Here I am, sitting in my armchair and just looking out the window. What do I see? Just an ordinary street scene. There is a man from the house opposite unloading boxes from his car. A woman and her two small children pass by right below our house. Maybe they are going to school. They will arrive a bit late, I imagine! The traffic is light because the morning rush has passed. An elderly man is walking his dog, stopping every few paces as the dog examines each tree. A fairly typical morning scene, unremarkable.

That’s when I realized that just looking out the window gives me the chance to see such beauty in the normal. It is a sunny day and the street looks bright and clean after last night’s shower. I see some small birds on the lawn, pecking away, looking for worms, I guess. God will provide their nourishment. The man unloading his car looks up and greets the lady with the small children. How good it is to see a friend and be acknowledged! The lady watches her two charges with a kindly eye but the little hands are firmly grasped in hers. No straying onto the road for these two! That is exactly how God is a mother to me. The elderly man is talking to his dog. I am sure he is a good companion to him. I remember my own little cat who kept me company during my morning prayer time when I lived in Salvador, Brazil. She used to curl up on my lap quite contentedly. Today I have fond memories of that time. It makes me a little homesick for Brazil, but in a good way.
I have just seen birds flying in and out of the eaves of a house opposite us. What are they about? Yes, yes, they are building a nest. Isn’t it wonderful that they are planning for new life when everything else around me seems quite dead? Things are never quite what they seem on the surface. There is really nothing that is “ordinary” or “unremarkable”. Life is unfolding before my very eyes and this morning I am so grateful that I took the time to gaze out of the window.