I’m looking out the window.
We visited our son, daughter-in-law and 5-year-old granddaughter Violet several months ago. We were fortunate to stay in my daughter-in-law’s parent’s house since they were out of town. What a luxury to have a home to stay in! Violet spent the night one night. I was afraid she’d get homesick but she did just fine. After we’d had breakfast I was clearing the kitchen and realized I had not heard Violet for a while. I called her name as I walked around the house.
She answered from upstairs. As I climbed the steps I said, “What are you doing?”
She answered, “I’m looking out the window.”
And there she was, standing at a big window in the bedroom, just looking.
Something about that struck me. She was not making something, playing something, or getting something. She was looking. And that was enough, more than enough.
As I’ve written before, I’ve been kind of fascinated by God’s gaze lately. I keep drawing eyes in my journal. I feel like I’m kind of collecting places where the Bible says, “God or Jesus looked…” or somehow alludes to Jesus looking.
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31)
“Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him.” (Mark 10:21)
“When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” (Luke 19:5)
“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.” (John 11:33)
“And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,…” (Luke 19:41)
“And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. “ (Luke 22:61)
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them,…” (Matthew 9:36)
I’m sure there are many more. Once I heard a poet talking about his craft and he said a poet’s job is to look out the window. I often look out the window while working at my desk. I placed my desk there because I love to look out that window. At work my desk placement allowed me to look out the window, too. Even if I’m only looking at a parking lot, I enjoy looking out the window, seeing the plants growing, the sky, the rain, the clouds, the light or dark. I often come home from trips with photos taken through windows.
You (or at least I) can zone out while gazing out a window. Looking out the window can generate a rare time where your mind drifts—like when you’re in the shower. What does this have to do with God’s gaze, his love? Just that when my mind is drifting while I look out the window, I often think of God looking at me, at us, at the world, with love—genuine love as it says in Mark, deeply moved as it says in John, with compassion as it says in Matthew.
God looks at you with love.