Admiration

first of all,

to look at the other

requires us

to stop looking

at ourselves.

but it is only from a lower position,

in the act of looking up,

that we can

a d m i r e.

in looking down,

we have created

pedestals,

declaring

a greater and less than.

to truly love

is not to have attachment

to positions,

roles in relationships,

or status.

to serve

not out of piety

or privilege.

but an honest

reverence

and adoration

for the other.

the pain -

yet the l o v e -

mary felt

looking up

to her son,

suffering.

the cross represents

the lowly,

yet

she

still

looks

up.

only by being lower than the other,

are we at an angle to possess

admiration.

God came,

in flesh,

to prove this point.

"jesus took off his outer garments,

tied a towel around his waist,

put water in a basin,

and began washing the disciples feet."

how often do we respond like peter?

"you shall never wash my feet,"

he says.

unafraid of the power and worth

of God's love

and to be truly seen

by the highest among all.

jesus responds to peter,

and to us,

"if i do not wash you,

you have no part of me."