The other day I went to the movies alone at one in the afternoon. This is what happens sometimes when you have a suddenly clear afternoon and a gift card. I like to go to the movies by myself sometimes because it gives me a chance to sit and absorb without many distractions. That day was especially nice since I was the only one watching the movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I loved the movie, and one moment in particular stuck out to me. Two characters are talking and one says in a very nonchalant way:
“Beautiful things don’t ask for attention.”
This floored me because of how absolutely true it is.
The mountains or ocean aren’t beautiful because they told you they are, they just existed until we discovered them for ourselves.
A beautiful heart doesn’t walk around and declare itself to be beautiful, it shows it by what it does when no one is watching.
The best leaders don’t think of themselves first, but of what good they can do for others.
The most beautiful kind of women are the kind who don’t know they are beautiful and don’t seek glory for themselves. Their qualities speak for them before words ever come out.
As I thought more on this, I realized this even applies to God in many ways. When God revealed himself to Elijah on the mountain, he wasn’t in the mighty wind, the earthquake, or even the fire. He was in the still and small voice, the whisper in the dark. The king of the universe didn’t come to us as an earthly prince to grab our attention. Instead he came as the son of a carpenter in the hick town and let his character and actions grab our attention.
Maybe true beauty is meant to be discovered and encountered, not advertised. When you love someone, it’s often the little things that you’ve discovered that you come back to over and over again.
The question that pops up because of this is “Are the things that are demanding my attention really that important in the big picture of life?” What if the things I’m constantly trying to appease are only distracting me from the more important things that God has invited me to discover with him?
I guess the point of this rambling is that maybe we should strive to discover more about each other, our world, this universe, and the God who created all of it, and if we look beyond the obvious, we may encounter something better.
jarrodterry.com 
“Are the things that are demanding my attention really that important in the big picture of life?” You ask.
I reply with the simple answer. “No, those things are only temporary. Yet all of us struggle so much with letting go of control and finding what beautiful things lie just out of our realm of control.”
Last week, my paster at my church emphasized on our priority of God in our lives. Often we say 1. God 2. Family 3. Friends/work/fill in the blank here…..We are all guilty of reversing that order at some point in our lives….and the things that are in front of us demand more of our attention than we would like to admit. The cost of following Jesus is like beautiful things not asking for attention. God wants us to make him number one in our lives but free will does not force us to just “do it” as the nike company would like to say. I think of Luke 9: 57-62. Review it, seek it, and listen for God’s guidance…even if it’s just a whisper…
Keep up the great insights 🙂
-Sum
Thank you so much for the comment! Luke 9:57-62 is such a great passage. The problem I have so often is learning to simply trust and let go of control, and it’s something that is continually improving for me. The biggest thing we have to be mindful of is what is truly beneficial to us, and not just permissible, like Paul said in 1 Corinthians.
Great thoughts!