i never saw that

maxi:vici

I’m surrounded by six bottles of amazingly smooth and locally distilled tequila. And when I say “locally distilled”, I don’t mean the kind I pick up at my Dallas local liquor store. Friends, I am in Colima, Mexico- a town that I call one of the most romantic places on earth!

Really! On. Earth.

Since the moment I’ve stepped foot on Colima soil, I’ve had a smile on my face. Y’all, the weather is AMAZING! This 65 degree breeze is just the break I needed from the August heat in Texas! And I love that hardly anyone is ever on their phone. Here I am on my chair, phone in hand, trying to capture the best lunch photo opportunity before my tacos get cold- gotta go all out for the gram!

I’m getting off track here, I’m just trying to paint this picture for y’all but this diary post has nothing to do with phones and tacos.

My favorite thing about Colima has been observing the affectionate relationships. Men courting women, the mariachi’s that cover the cobblestone streets, and restaurants from corner to corner. I get lost in the authenticity of this place and these people. The fearless affection and mariachi’s serenade makes me feel like I’m watching a blockbuster love story! Where am I and why does relocating sound like an amazing plan right about now?!

I’m traveling with one of my friends and she introduced me to her Aunt Betty. We spent some time on a mini road trip in between cities.

I feel very lucky to get to know this amazing woman. She is a native to Colima- she has lived in this magical place her entire life. I was telling her how in awe I am with the romance that lingers blissfully through the city. She was listening quietly, with a smile on her face, and then she asked me, “Tienes un amor, Tori?”

“Oh Aunt Betty, we’d be here for hours if we went over my love life. Let’s talk about you!” I responded. I asked her in return if she had an “amor” in her life.

She told me she had been married and they had 3 children. It’s been almost two years since he passed.

I could see the love she had for this man in her eyes. She didn’t seem sad when she talked about her late husband. You could see that she still adored him now, as much as she ever did.

My friend then told us that her uncle was missing an arm. She asks Aunt Betty, “did it ever bother you that he only had one arm?” Without hesitation, so sweetly and unconditionally, Aunt Betty said, “I never saw that.”

Maybe it was the tone of our conversation in the car as we passed these beautiful mountains, but hearing Aunt Betty say this got me teary eyed. Pretty quickly in fact. The whole setting of it all was not the normal road trip talk and this woman had me seeing through different eyes.

“I never saw that…”

Let this marinate for a minute.

What did she see instead? What were her eyes fixed on?

I feel like sometimes in relationships people are guilty of looking at all the wrongs things or thing. And it’s so petty, but I too am guilty of this! For example, classic move for me, if I meet a really great guy and he’s sweet, kind, all the things on my list, but he is the worst dresser in the Lone Star State, I’m probably not going to carry on with him. Buying a new wardrobe is a BIG job, and I’ve got my own closet to manage.

No, but really, something as small as the kind of shoes your date is wearing can so easily make or break the progression of the relationship. And why, because he wasn’t GQ’s man of the hour?

I guess what I’m getting at is the heart of someone is sometimes the last thing we see. All of the other stuff is just a distraction. To have a heart like Aunt Betty and see someone for who they are not what they are, that is beautiful.

This whole conversation in the car has me thinking…I’d rather be that kind of love story! Rather than all the other predictable ones that fall short because my eyes are fixed on all the wrongs things.

Talking with Aunt Betty also reminded me of everything I’ve fall short of, my past mistakes. It makes me a little ashamed of myself for fixing my eyes on the wrong qualities in people.

Hearing Aunt Betty talk about love made my heart so thankful that God saw me, my very being, on my knees in tears, loving and wanting to serve a great God and feeling so unworthy…He doesn’t just welcome me, but rolls out the red carpet and says, “I never saw that.”

I don’t know what you are facing in yourself or in a relationship but maybe take a step back and ask God that may you see with different eyes, that He have you look at the heart first and may His love pour through you.

HE never saw that…but HE does see you. Wonderfully made and much deserving of a great love.