Dignity

Dignity hides in unexpected places.
Search amongst kings and princes,
Those applauded and famed,
But likely you will not find it there.
Rather-
Look deeper and further.
Watch faces and hands
Revealing the heart of those overlooked,
For dignity resides where you least expect it.
Look among the poor-
See not the whole but the part.
Look for one life and study it.
There she is now. Dignity moves.
Amongst the dust and dirt,
At home with the simple and content.
Head held high. Gaze fixed.
No jewels or finery wears she,
But adorned with true treasures found.
No look of condescension has she;
No thought to impress, thought that she does,
As she rises above circumstance and calamity
With such grace and composure.
No strain for beauty shows on her face;
No sign of struggle to do more
Than those tasks she does each day, every day,
And every day of every year.
At peace with who and where she is
She becomes Dignity herself,
As she carries the weight of her world on the shoulders
So gracefully.

Glow

The glow that happened on and around this commonplace barn caused me to literally stop in my tracks and pull the car over to gaze. If the light had been different I may well have driven on. Like the barn, we can spend many days feeling functional and ordinary. But now and again we get hit by Light, and that changes everything. The Light causes us to literally glow, and in turn, that glow causes others to stop in their tracks and look at us differently. They see a beauty they did not see before. Have we changed ? No. We're still the same old barn on the outside we ever were, but the Light touching us and glowing around us, changes us. And in that moment, the ordinary becomes extraordinary and has the chance to warm another's soul.

Jesus said "I am the Light of the World.'