Seeing Green

I decided to give myself a little writing assignment today: try to see the ways God is present in my co-workers. It was a little challenging, and I’m not sure if that says more about how I perceive them or how they really are. Hurm.

The nurse: will always ask about my weekend and is the first to ask how someone is feeling if they were out sick.

The bodyguard: is quick to protect my workload and defend my honor.

The encourager: believes that I can do great things and wants to see my job expand.

The empathizer: shares my beliefs and has let me in on their world, secrets and brokenness.

The confident one: talks unabashedly about the Lord and has a heart of gold.

The mommy: trusts me enough to let me in on advice and scenarios with family and consoles me when I need it.

The wordsmith: is genius with ideas and always will help when I ask.

The mouthpiece: luh-oves what we do and is an evangelist for the arts. I learn so much from just listening.

The joyous one: laughs often and works hard.

The mystery: is hard to categorize and there’s a distinct beauty in that.

The housekeeper: straightens things up and offers coffee or treats to all.

The mirror: “life imitates art” in their operatic existence. It’s fun to watch.

The hedonist: loves things passionately and digs down into the best parts of them.

I want to look for the qualities of Christ in people more. It's a time-intensive discipline since it requires such a perspective shift. I'm going to have to practice a lot. It's easier to see the frustrating or work-related things since they're just bobbing on the surface. But in Christ, I know I'm being challenged to take time. To dig. To make a little more effort.

I'm doing this with my friends and family. Trying to see Christ in them, these people I already love (and even like most of the time). But I spend more time in this building than I do anywhere else - surrounded by these people, a few of whom I like and most that I don't know how to love.

So, just taking a little bit of time to do this was healing. It helped me look through a new, yellow lens at this blue world, blurring the details and content. I think green suits it.