Yesterday I stood at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean during a stormy sunrise. The beach on the Outer Banks of North Carolina stretched out of sight in both directions. The deep blue clouds, lighted from above were a thing of rare beauty. The strong, gusty winds pushed me around like one of the few brave seagulls. But what overwhelmed me most was the inescapable salty aroma that heralded the transition from continent to ocean, the edge of two…
It was a stunning sight walking before dawn this morning and seeing the full moon with a soft atmospheric glow around it. There are few things as beautiful on this Earth (or at least seen from this Earth). It would not be possible to recount all the songs or verse inspired by this very sight. Although the moon appeared quite different from the last time I saw it, it occurred to me that it remained absolutely the same. What had changed were…
There is nothing quite like a walk on a wooded path on a Summer morning. Mostly, the journey goes on as expected but, from time to time, I find myself engulfed in a pungent aroma of honeysuckle or jasmine. I am at once overwhelmed and enraptured by the encounter. It reconnects me to the beauty that is beyond me. My heart is flush with wonder and gratitude. Our life-journey is similar to travel along such a path – long stretches of…
In Noah’s time, just after the earth-destroying flood, the rainbow is conspicuously present as God promises Noah and his family grace in the place of judgement. The rainbow is also on display when the Apostle John first looks in on the great scene of worship around God’s throne in the Revelation. Why the rainbow? The rainbow teaches us many things about God’s creation. It is also a striking visual declaration of the omnipotence of our Creator. We see the beauty of Jesus in…
Just like the unseen beauty and unseen details of the desert or ocean are to the casual observer, God’s work in our lives and in the details of our world are often unnoticed or unappreciated. Observing, from an encumbered point of view, across the rolling desert, it is easy to miss the washes, canyons and vegetation that are normally hidden within them. Walking among the trees and cacti, usually hidden below the horizon, one can appreciate their beauty and just how…
My ascent of the Turtle Head Peak yesterday in Red Rock Canyon gave me the opportunity to see and consider some amazing old trees that thrive on the windy slopes. In specific areas, where the winds seemed to be funneled and intensified, the trees appeared to thrive the most. These are the areas in which I had to bow down as I climbed the trail to the summit. I would guess the gusts were upwards of 40 to 50 mph…
Life has its dormant seasons – periods devoid of either storms or pleasant breezes. These “doldrums” tempt us to imagine we are adrift and outside of God’s gaze. Physical stillness, however, is an illusion. Cells are multiplying, gases are expanding, photosynthesis is filling our lungs. Reality should provide us with an overwhelming sense of motion and activity. Our planet spins and orbits with unimaginable force (rotating at 1,040 mph at the equator while orbiting the sun at close to 67,000…
As I look out of my window at the Tulip tree, one week before Spring, I am both thankful and, a little regretful that the blooms are already covering the lawn with a beautiful carpet of white and pink. It seems as though they began to bloom, in full, a day ago. Our thrill of their heart-pleasing beauty comes less than once a year (some years a late frost prematurely wipes out the blooms). In God’s world – the one…