Look Up

They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ~ Acts 10:39-41

Birdwatchers spend a good deal of time looking up. So much can happen above your head without noticing. You can’t walk around with your eyes to the sky, so looking up requires care. You likely need to stop or at least slow down. It is also helpful to engage senses other than sight to help you know when to look up. Our hearing is designed to pick up sounds from any direction and while it may not be precise, we usually can tell when the sound is coming from above. Things start looking up when we engage more holistically.

Looking up comes at a price. It requires time, energy, and a commitment that takes attention from other productivity. There needs to be good reasons to look up. Well, there are no promises, but the practice of looking up will almost always guarantee surprises. But what is the value of surprise? Your mileage may vary, but I would contend that random encounters with beauty hold a promise to spark your imagination and creativity. They also should provide a salve for the soul. If you have enough curiosity, surprises will generate endless questions creating new journeys that you wouldn’t have imagined previously. You might even have a spiritual encounter with the divine spirit of the Wild Goose filling you with a desire to chase.

Of course, sometimes when we look up we see unattractive sights. Looking up at the cross on Good Friday is to look at the horror that we are capable of. It can cause us to keep our eyes down, fearful and ashamed, choosing to never look up again. Maybe that is why the resurrected Christ stayed around in relationship with those whom he loved before ascending to the heavens weeks later. Sometimes the saving beauty of love comes down from on high, even when we aren’t waiting and watching.

Prayer: Love-Come-Down, thank you for valuing us so greatly that you would never stop trying to get our attention. Fill us with curiosity and courage to look up, take flight, and follow. Amen.