Waves roll gently onto the shallow sand beach as we use our toes to search for sand dollars. Blue water stretches out along the Red Sea. Behind me a craggy mountain meets the blue sky. I breathe in the beauty of creation.  

In another pocket of the country, the white desert spreads out, where rocks shaped by years of erosion look like giant mushrooms. A night camping under the stars will take your breath away.

Over the years Egypt has delighted us with her areas of astounding beauty. Rolling hills of sand, coral reefs, rocky wilderness, palm tree forests in an oasis. Incredible vacations to experience new adventures. 

However, our daily reality was life in the capital city of Cairo. Can I find beauty in this city of concrete? Where trash piles up on the street corners and car horns honk all day long? My soul longs for beauty and brown buildings stabbing the skyline don’t do it for me. 

I had been living in the city long enough to tire of the concrete and trash and long for open spaces when I was given a powerful reminder. God reminded me that His finest creation, the one He made with His hands and breathed His very breath into, filled this city (Gen 1:26-27, 2:7). Inside towers of concrete, packed into subway cars that snake through the city, walking through the streets carrying groceries — each person fearfully and wonderfully made by the Father. Most of whom are desperately in need of the truth of His love for them. 

Jesus commissioned His followers to be witnesses in all areas and to the ends of the earth (Acts1:8), and that includes the cities where the light pollution blocks out the stars.

I tucked this perspective into my heart so that I could stay intentional to look for beauty everywhere. As I looked into the faces around me, as I smiled to the veiled woman passing by and greeted the old woman on her balcony and bought my vegetables at the corner, I could remember that each one carries pieces of God’s beauty within them.