Inspiration in Beauty

My work hours this past week fatigued me. A co-worker who works the evening shift took vacation and I filled in part of her time. Different sleep hours interrupted my spring gardening momentum but it did not render me totally unobservant.

This particular day I got off work as usual...about 6:45pm...in spring time that is almost sundown. I collapsed into my car and just sat making an effort to shake off the stress of the day before going home. The hospital is on a small hill with enough open space for a life-flight helicopter to land. Directly in front of my car stood an incredible flowering tree framed with dusty cumulus clouds. With the lowering sun behind me, the mauve flower petals almost sparkled with the light. One of those moments that a photographer watches for...the reason she carries her camera with her always. (Not today of course) As I sat trying to soak in all the beauty, I had what I call a revelation.

All my life, even as a child, I believed in God. I have never not believed. As I've grown so has the size of God. From that first visit to the confessional with my cheat sheet so I wouldn't forget a single sin; to high school discussions with a Jewish girl friend about death, life review, heaven, hell, a state of being; to college where I left the church of my childhood but discovered the miracle of conception and development in Embryology class. Through all this my understanding of heaven developed from harps and clouds to something like cruising the universe learning everything there is to know and more...until I saw that tree.

At that moment all the beauty I had appreciated in my life time came together. The moment of revelation when Creator, creature, and the perfection of habitat became a single thought. The Creator who will stop the destruction of His planet. The Creator who offers new live to those who will choose to accept it. The Creator who will restore His dying planet into its original state - a perfect match for His newly revived creatures. Suddenly I knew I could be totally satisfied living in a world created for me and I for it.

LESSON: See the beauty that lives around you and know it exists for you.