Sunday, November 8, 2015

Thankful for beauty

Today we took a November walk in the park.

Many of the leaves have fallen.  In the aftermath, trees stand exposed, their bare twigs branching delicately off the ends of limbs.

Here a tree reaches for the vast blue sky, spots of red color lingering, embellishing.

Even weed seeds have some glory when the sun strikes them at a certain angle.

Space, lacy trees, blue sky.

Bright red berries shining just before evening.

More weeds, standing golden before the edge of the forest.

After 25 years in the Northeast, I never seem to tire of open space and big blue sky.

Magical sun dispersing slanted beams through the thicket and onto the path,
lighting up some last golden leaves on the way.

Layers of shadow, vertical trunks, illuminated meadow, far off tree row, 
slices of space and light.

Trees and space and so much sky.

A wild-flower blooming in November, and who would have thought blue?

This is where we live.

So much beauty, right outside my door.

And that's only this beauty, here, today.

There are also babies, puppies, roses,
Waterfalls, lullabies,
A tiny rainbow reflection from a piece of crystal near the window,
Songbirds,
Always the sun and the sky.

When other things are wrong and terrible, we can turn our eyes towards beauty.

I believe that God made beauty so we could find some hope when our souls are in distress.  Beauty is a sign of His presence in this world, and His promise of infinitely more beauty in the world to come.

Finally, brothers, 
whatever is true, 
whatever is honorable, 
whatever is just, 
whatever is pure, 
whatever is lovely, 
whatever is commendable, 
if there is any excellence, 
if there is anything worthy of praise, 
think about these things.
~Philippians 4:8 (ESV) 


I am thankful for beauty.





2 comments:

Shannon said...

These pictures are really beautiful! I think I like the red berries and the slanting sunbeams the best. It is nice to remember that no matter where we are, there is beauty. Thank you for sharing these, Mom!

Ruthie said...

Thank you! I like the picture of the row of trees against the sky, right before the picture of the berries, and also the tiny blue flower because it was such a surprise to find it among all the dry textures of autumn. It is hard to capture the transcendent goldenness of sun across a prairie in the late afternoon, and at a certain point I put away the camera and simply breathed it all in, in real life. These pictures are sufficient to evoke the memories I want to hold, so that, too, is something to be thankful for.