This is the time of year when I begin to notice just how dirty my windows are. The windows in my house, my office windows, all windows seem to be covered with a fine veil of grime, some fingerprints here, a glob of who know what there. I didn’t notice it all winter…were they this bad for months without my being aware? But now with the strong,spring sun shining through, I notice. Everything on the outside seems filtered, not quite clear. I find myself squinting…is that a small squirrel or a large bird….what is that junk that is emerging from underneath the melting snow….did I really leave that outside at the end of the fall?

The experience of dirty windows can be a metaphor for how we see much within our days. How often do I struggle to see more clearly the problem I’m trying to solve? If only I could wipe away some of my ego, my need to be right or in control, perhaps it would be easier to see the solution. Those fingerprints etched on the dirty window, too small to be mine, remind me that I do not travel this life’s journey alone. I am a mentor, a mother, a friend to young ones who want to be seen and known, who need my time and attention more than whatever seems to be so pressing at the moment. There is beauty just within reach but I have to clear away my assumptions, expectations, prejudice to be able to see others in their fullness. 

The film that covers my lens to the world allows me to only see in a partial way. "For now we see in a glass dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully,even as I have been fully known." writes Paul in his letter to the people of Corinth.

Much of how we live our days is with the view from dirty windows. It takes determination, tools, supplies, elbow grease and time to clean the grime away so we can see more clearly into the world.  It takes genuine desire and faith to scrub clean the windows of our hearts so we can embrace what until now we could know only in part. Paul’s words remind us that even though we may be seeing in a partial way, the Holy knows and sees us in our fullness. It is into that fullness that we are invited by the One who breathed and birthed us into being and by whom we are fully known.

I don’t know what the weekend holds…..but it could be a good time to wash some windows. Who knows what is longing to be seen?

Have a warm and wonderful weekend……………..

As the sun makes brilliant the view out my window, I am drawn to the beauty that is coming to life in Creation.