Surrounded

Not far behind our house is a trail which leads down to the Potomac River.  At several points along the trail there are little streams that run perpendicular to it.  The last few weeks those streams have been frozen silent and covered with snow.  This past weekend they have opened up, running free and talkative once again.

Though very different, each of these scenarios has its own beauty, deep enough to cause one to pause and take it in.  Each of these scenarios delights in the unique gifts it offers.

The truth is, I think we are always surrounded by beauty if we but have eyes to see it, if we’ll pause long enough to take it in.  It is not so much the kind of beauty that can we can purchase or somehow create; it can only be discovered and cherished.

Lent is the perfect season to consider how we are doing at seeing the beauty around us, whether in people, the world, or the church.  It is the perfect season to at least in some way fast from the busyness of our ordinary every day lives.  In so doing, we make space to stop and appreciate the goodness of God as it manifested in so many different ways.

Surely, this is part of what it means to live a blessed life.

Comments

[jan]

Despite the ugliness (mostly human created) in the world, it is a beautiful place indeed. That's why I take pictures, as a reminder.

[coral]

I love the way you have described Lent and that it is a item of deep reflection, and thought. It is a time to reflect on one's life and decide on where changes are needed, to create balance. You have shown this so positively in all your Lent posts. Thank you.

[jan]

First follow Nature and your judgment frame
By her just standard, which is still the same;
Unerring Nature, still divinely bright,
One clear, unchanged, and universal light,
Life, force, and beauty must to all impart,
At once the source, and end, and test of art.
--Alexander Pope

[Hedwyg]

Ahhhh... breathtaking! I love rivers and streams - babbling brooks. When they start to speak again, I am reminded of Psalm 98 where it says "Let the rivers clap their hands and let the hills ring out with joy before the Lord." I love that image! I also love the verse in Psalm 96 - "Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy before the Lord when he comes."

But you are right about beauty - we have to be intentional about seeing it, or we miss it, and we miss out. Thank you!