My life is my cathedral

Last year, I heard a song called Cathedral by Karla Anderson (a great Alberta songwriter/singer) and the lyrics really resonated with me. I shared the song with my close friends and one of those friends just sent me this random email about it. Before I share what her email said, I wanted to share the lyrics with you... the song is both beautiful and haunting.

Cathedral(Karla Anderson)


Well I’m building my cathedral
And simple though it seems
The foundation’s here, the walls are up
And love supports the beams
Everyday I’m adding something new
Everyday it’s taking shape
It’s designed by a master craftsman
You know it’s built by the choices I make


My life is my cathedral
And the doors are never closed
But I’m always under construction
So wear your hardhat and watch your toes


Well maybe when you come here
We’ll find a comfy place to rest
Yes, or maybe we’ll need to renovate
After we have confessed
When you look at it you may see beauty
Or you may see the cracks and the flaws
But I just hope that you’ll stay for awhile
And you’ll visit me because


My life is my cathedral
It’s a house of dominoes
It’s just systematically falling down
When life deals out the blows
Well the altar’s washed with tears here
The windows are a little blurred
There’s a simple silly beauty
That to some might seem absurd
Some walls are painted wildly
Some rooms you will never see
Hey but if you come in peace my friend
You can take a tour with me


My life is my cathedral
And the work is never done
It’s a labor of love, it’s a masterpiece
And the fun has just begun
When you look at it you may see beauty
Or you may see the cracks and the flaws
But I just hope that you’ll stay for awhile
And visit me because


My life is my cathedral
And the doors are never ever closed
But, I’m always under construction
Always under construction
I’m just always under construction
So wear your hardhat and watch your toes

(Karla Anderson/Lefty Was Right Music) SOCAN ©2002


The song always gives me hope because it is okay if I don't get everything done today. It is okay to be changing. It is okay to be broken and sometimes a little rumpled and messy.

Back to the email my friend sent me - she pasted a story she read on a blog about cathedrals and life. Here is an edited excerpt from that blog (I have no idea whose it is but it is good stuff!)

The woman began by describing a gift someone gave her when she was feeling rather un-noticed for all the sacrificing she did....

"It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn’t exactly sure why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription: “To ---, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.”

Here are four truths about cathedrals... No one can say who built the great cathedrals– we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

Legend has it that wealthy man who came to a cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. Puzzled, he asked, “Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that no one will ever see.” And the workman replied, “Because God sees.”

It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, “I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you’ve done is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become.”

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree."


I supposed it's just another way to see our lives as a cathedral.