While in France, more than just my cell phone taught me to look up and look out.

Sainte-Chappelle’s windows pointed my eyes heavenward, illustrating stories from Scripture (the very stones which line the windows are arranged in such a way as to make arrows–do you see?)

Mont Saint Michel–a monastery which itself points upward, perched on a rock at the Atlantic shore–boasts a Gothic church, encouraging the pilgrim to continually remember the source of life and strength.

Arrows abound in the aisle at Reims.

All is oriented upward on the West facade in Strasbourg.

Our necks hurt the first few days that we spent in cathedrals, but soon we got used to paying more attention to what was above and around us than what was below us or what was associated with our own individual experiences (I cannot recall which cathedrals were most-busy, or most-noisy, or too cold, or too warm, or too expensive).

I wonder if our lives should be a bit more about paying attention to who God reveals himself to be (those things, “above”), to God’s work in others’ lives and in the world (what’s around us).

This message is finding its way into all kinds of outlets recently–here are a few I’ve noticed:

Relevant Magazine

Huffington Post

What do you think?  How have sacred spaces challenged you to look differently at life?