A few weeks ago a friend and I had a conversation about all of the different places and things that God makes His presence known to us through. The conversation started as I laughed as she explained how she saw oranges as a clear vision of God. From there we discussed sunsets, beaches, and everything that we could think of.

God is everywhere. He is in everything. Last night another friend and I wandered around the monuments in DC at night. We ended up at the Lincoln memorial where my friend led me to the back of the memorial to show me the view. I wish I had had my camera on me. It was an incredible view and all I could think about was that God was there.

Sometimes life events make it difficult to see God. It is during those times that it is important to take a step back and look at the bigger picture or close in and look at the little details. He is in the sunrise every single morning and the sunset every single evening. The sun never fails to rise or set; therefore, that is twice a day that we can count on His presence being made known.

My friend now has me convinced that He is in a simple orange.

He is in the scenery that surrounds us on a daily basis. Everyday that I walk out the front door of my building, I am in awe of the beauty that stands before me in the incredible architecture of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. I see Him in the stone work of the buildings where my classes are held. He is in the city scape that glows when the sky goes dark.

I love capturing pictures of the moon because it is the same moon every night, but it never looks the same as the night before.

He is in the changing of the seasons as the leaves turn from green to shades of orange and yellow. The idea of the city being covered in white with the lights glistening off of the snow makes me impatient for the first snowfall here in DC.

He is in the conversations that take place when meeting new people and welcoming them to the area.

I see Him in all of the children that I work with. Earlier this week I was holding a little five month old baby with the organization I volunteer for. I was having an off night and felt completely and utterly drained. I cradled her in my arms and as I looked at her chubby cheeks and long eye lashes, I thought about how she is a child of God. She was made in His image. Every time I look at her I see a glimpse of Him.

We are all made in His image.

Instead of wasting our time hating, insulting, hurting, and arguing with each other, why don’t we take the time to admire the beauty that each individual holds? The world we live in can be so focused on negativity or selfish motives. Watching the news for five minutes can be enough to make someone depressed. We need more positivity and people who think beyond themselves and about those around them. This is something that I am desperately trying to address in my own life. I want to share the love of Christ by loving and spreading joy to those around me. I fail so often and sometimes am embarrassed by my actions, but there’s always tomorrow to try again.

We are nine days into the new year. It’s all about fresh starts and new beginnings. So, let’s make a difference and love those around us, strangers and all. Let’s take the time to appreciate the little things and admire this beautiful world that we live in.

1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Genesis 1:26-27 “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Colossians 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”