Window Views

For years, I was dependent on eyedrops, my only relief for parched and gritty eyes. I had become accustomed to the darkness of cramped cubicles, lit up by fluorescent lamps and dressed in withering pot plants. No matter the season, I would wear my thickest jumper, my shield against the wall of artificial fumes blasting from mouldy vents above. Shivering and bleary eyed, I longed for a desk with window views.

A wise man once said that life under the sun was meaningless—a nine-to-five cycle of gains and losses. In my pursuit of meaning, the sun became a stranger. Rising at dawn, I never had time to stop and smell the sunrise. By the time light kissed the horizon, I was already in the office fuelled by caffeine, stringing tired sentences on keyboards stained with yesterday’s lunch. Too much work, too little time.

Once I finally clocked out of my cubicle, the sun would have already moved on. Sometimes, I would catch the wink of a star breaking through polluted skies—a glimmer of natural light, suffocated by million-dollar views. Returning home after dark, I would scoff down a microwaved meal before collapsing onto an unkept bed. Even in the silence, I would hear the drill of tomorrow’s alarm, hurrying me to wake and to do it all again. For what? What do people gain from their toils under the sun?

In a year where calendars were cancelled, and the world came to a standstill, I saw the gentle lifting of the city’s smog. I spent many mornings in my backyard with pen and paper, my words coming alive to a new and unhurried rhythm. I discovered a new love for brushing creation’s colours onto canvas and seeing heaven’s hues rolled across land, water and sky.

Home isolation has definitely had its challenges, but it gave me the luxury of a window view of my Creator. Unlike my office cubicle, there is beauty and variety in every backdrop. Majestic sunrises tenderised by the mercies of the morning breeze. Flourishing vines weaved between gentle, pastel blooms. The brilliance of every sunset to inject hope to day’s end, so that no matter how dark my nights may feel, I can be reminded that even endings can be beautiful.

Day after day the heavens are declaring God’s glory, but for far too long I was too busy to even look outside my window.

What is something you have learned from home isolation or working from home? Let me know in the comments below!