originally MONDAY, AUGUST 13, 2007
God's simple beauty
How often do we stop to really appreciate God's hidden beauty in everything He created? Often people will gawk at something extraordinary, like a sunset -but how often to we search for and appreciate God's amazing beauty in our everyday, ordinary lives? If you don't do it daily, it is worth taking a few minutes everyday to do. It will change your life. It will teach you to be thankful for little things, it will give you happiness for a second or two, and it will raise your thoughts to God's living presence among us. You know, God did not just create the world once -He is touching, forming and creating the world continually, now -every moment. And it is amazing how everything God makes, He makes beautifully.
I remember one long train ride I had in Poland this past winter. I was returning from Warsaw to Wroclaw and my 6 hour train ride turned into a 9 hour train ride because of the snow and frozen tracks. Our windows steamed up from the heat, but it did not matter much because the dirt flying up from the tracks as we raced along had already covered our windows from the outside. Since reading on a train makes me sick, staring at the person across from me scares most passengers, and falling asleep is not prudent when I am traveling alone -the only place I could rest my eyes as I prayed was on my frosted over, fogged up, dirty window. But God really touched me through such a seemingly meaningless and ordinary thing. I began to truly contemplate the great beauty of each of the snowflakes frosting over the dirt, hidden beneath the fog. And I was really amazed at how God created them in such detail and in such beauty. Chances were that no one would ever notice His little masterpieces -and I am sure billions of such snowflakes have existed without a human's second thought. But even if His work was to be ignored (or covered by dirt for that matter) -He still made it beautiful, because He is God. And God simply is beautiful. This thought inspired me to strive to do everything in my life -regardless if it is noticed or not -in great love, peace and beauty (in imitation of my Creator). If I close a door, I should take that extra second to do it beautifully, in love, full of peace -so it does not slam. If I walk -I should walk with love, in beauty. If I raise my glass to drink -I should do it in beauty, in peace and in love for God. Such a thing might sound crazy to most of you, but taking a deep breath and trying to live simple moments more purposefully can really transform your heart (as well as those around you). Of course a person will most likely not remember this all day everyday, but if he deliberately does this a few times everyday (or one time everyday) -it is enough to deepen his life a bit, and give it an extra moment of rest and joy with God.
Anyway, those were my reflections on a really long and tiring train ride. I only thought to share them with you because I found these cool pictures that I took of a dying flower on our back porch a month ago. Sometimes when things look ugly at first glance, we need to take time to look deeper -because the beauty of God's presence is there.
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