Where I grew up, there was space. You did not have to drive far to get lost in the cornfields, and quiet was interrupted more often by crickets than car horns. There was space to explore and breath. And the only traffic came from a tractor, or even occasionally a horse and carriage. It was home and I loved it.
But one day I took a trip to the city, and I was never the same.
Deep down, I know that I will always live in a place where most houses have yards. I will never be able to give up trees and stars. But I never want to live more than a short drive away from the urban jungle. It changed me.
Why am I such a city enthusiast? I once heard someone say “there is no painting or poem, no sonnet, that can compare to the beauty of the city.” Yes! Exactly!
There is a beauty in the simplicity of the country. But the complexity of the city, that draws me. Constant motion, culture, and life. I just soak it up. It never gets old, because it is never the same.
See
The city is a people watchers dream. Everyone is by themselves in a crowd. No one looks the same, dresses the same, or are really worried about what anyone else thinks.
Not only the people, but the buildings, the cafes, the shops. There is so much in the city. It is never ending. To me it is just a picture of the creativity that people are capable of. I am in awe of the variety, and it makes me need to explore where all the inspiration and dreams come from that bring these things to be.
Hear
Open your ears. You get little snippets of people’s lives. What they are going thru. Who they are talking to. All the different languages being spoken.
There is so much to hear. The ambulance sirens, the honk of the taxis, the music of street musicians, and the chatter of casual diners. Everyone has a story that is completely separate from me. They are going through things that I have never experienced. Everyone is different.
Experience
To truly experience the city, you need to walk. You have to take it all in. To see the glamorous and the not so glamorous. To watch the posh neighborhood boutiques turn into the urban college buildings with hipster college students hanging around, to the ethnic neighborhoods with smells of authentic food cooking and music pumping from the windows.
There is just something about a city that touches a piece of my heart. I can’t really put my finger on it just quite. But the more I think about it, I realize that it just reminds me of the Gospel. There are SO MANY PEOPLE in my city. And there is no way I could even fathom knowing what is going on in everyone’s life. It is so easy to judge or make assumptions of the people you see walking around because of how they dress or act.
But God sees them all. He knows them down to every hair on their head. And he cared enough about them to send his son for them. Each and everyone of them.
The beauty goes even deeper when I realize that they are all SO INCREDIBLY different from me. And that is just a reflection of the beauty and diversity of God’s creation. We were all made in God’s image. Even with different backgrounds, preferences, and experiences, we all reflect an aspect of God’s character.
The diversity of His people in a crowded city is just as much an image of the Majesty of God’s creation as a mountain range or a star scattered sky. Even more actually. Because with as much intentionality as He created all of nature, He did not give it a soul. He send His son into the world to die for each and every person I stroll past on those streets.
Do they feel His calling? Are they sensing Him in the midst of their troubles? Are they questioning His existence? Will I see any of these people in Heaven, standing shoulder to shoulder with me lifting our hands to the Lord?
I hope so. Praise God for His creation, whether it be the crowded Metro train or the rolling fields of trees and corn. Keep your eyes open, because God is making His presence known everywhere. He is always reminding us of His mission in every situation if we listen for it.