Beauty
Rob took me away this weekend to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We did not go far, just to Killington, VT. From the moment we arrived I was struck by the beauty of the area. Surrounded by the Green Mountains, we found miles of farms and beautiful old houses, a town that looked like it came straight out of an old movie, a worn and weathered castle built to lure a British royal to marry a Vermont native, and a breathtaking view from the top of a popular ski spot. It was here, sitting at the top of Killington Peak, that I was struck with how much beauty I have had the privilege to see. You know that saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder?" Well, it seems my beholding eyes find beauty in a number of different things.
Since we moved to Upstate New York I have yet to tire of the deep green giants rising around me. However, as a self declared southern girl, I am so drawn to the coast and the rolling, endless blue of the ocean that I long for the sun and the feel of warm sand. Now, the Caribbean has a different beauty than the Atlantic. It is bluer and the sand whiter somehow. Of course, I was born in Minot, North Dakota, and know the peace of being able to see miles ahead along the highway edged by soft waving wheat or the strong, tall stalks of corn. So different with each region, and yet so beautiful in it's own right.
Then there is the beauty of the seasons. The colors and smells of fall, the glitter and brightness of fresh snow, those first shoots of green in the spring, and the bright warm sun of summer. Each one completely unique, and each one with a value and beauty that is hard to deny.
What struck me, sitting at the top of a mountain, was how brilliant God was in his creation. There is striking beauty anywhere and anytime we might be. So how much more is there beauty within us?
"So God created mankind in his own image, male and female he created them" Genesis 1:27
"In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land" Psalm 95:4-5
How can I admire the beauty of the world around me and not always value the beauty of His most prized creation? Nothing could be more unique and creative as each and every individual on the earth. I had a recent conversation with a friend about how people are in different parts of the country. This could certainly be even more pronounced if traveling outside the US. So different with each region, and yet so beautiful in their own right.
"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" Ephesians 2:10
So get out there and explore. Check out the amazing handiwork around you and, along the way, don't forget to make new friends. Each one completely unique and each one with a value and beauty that is hard to deny.
