Most people started living their lives again about two months ago, when the stay-at-home orders were lifted. I did not. I still haven't celebrated Mass. I still haven't crossed that 6-8 feet distance to hug friends I haven't hugged for two years... and for the sake of myself and my family, I haven't gone back to work. I'm studying at home, living at home, staying (more or less, all the time) at home.

My Mom, bless her, helps me get out of the house to have fun in safe ways. But forgive me, I went off on a side tangent. Let's refocus on the message.

I wanted to encourage you like how I would want to be encouraged. Find and make sure something in your life is really beautiful. The musical "Hamilton" arriving on Disney+ July 3rd inspired me to verbalize this truth. Make sure something beautiful is in your life to lift your soul out of what can become a dreary day to day grind. Beautiful things will help you remember how to dream, create, and step out of yourself for a minute to appreciate these things of sheer beauty.

Forget your woes in the beautiful.

Beautiful things reminder us - it's not all bad.

Let the beauty of the world captivate you and inspire your soul to praise the beautiful Creator, who made it for you. Our Creator is the most beautiful, inspiring, awesome, powerful, breathtaking, captivating, mysterious beauty we'll ever know. We can't know Him, Our God, fully, but within our limited understanding we can understand and be completely enchanted and caught up in His beauty.

God is so good, and He created the world to be good. Sin entered the world by human fault and that sin destroys the good that the world used to be 100% full of. Someday, God will eradicate sin forever and reestablish the whole world, including our frail human bodies, to be fully immersed and glorified in Jesus Christ. God will create a new heaven and earth. It will be beautiful. It will be glorious.

The world is full of not so pretty things. It's good to be aware of those things and fight against sins and injustices.

But don't forget the beauty that exists here on earth, too. God is good and His goodness is seen in those beautiful things. Looking at beautiful things helps our souls remember His goodness. Beauty redirects us to Him and, I think, makes us more receptive to Him. Beauty helps us be glad, and it helps me think more clearly and positively.

God is still here, still loving us, and is still in control. He has never lost control.

He is still making and sustaining beautiful things on earth.

Here are some other beautiful things I praised God for this week:

Catching up over the phone with friends

Koala bears in Australia and a new baby elephant in the St. Louis zoo

Lounging by the pool during a hot, humid afternoon

Saint quotes

A chocolate milkshake from Andy's (heck yeah)

Wearing cute clothes just because I felt like it

Sleeping in

Daisies growing tall by my home parish

A story about a professional football player giving a baby fan (a literal baby who was his fan) his towel (I don't know how old this story is, but it is super cute)

A beautiful dinner of orange chicken and rice

I encourage you to remember the beautiful, and let it help you during your day to day. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.

Brooke,