All things bright and beautiful

I am high over Western Europe when today’s moment of observation arrives.  The sun floats radiant over a Berber carpet of clouds.

When I look out of the window of the plane, I am awestruck by the potency and purity of the light.  It is piercingly beautiful.  In light inaccessible, hid from our eyes.  So bright, I let the camera take the brunt of the brilliance.  It has a stronger eye.

I love the expansiveness of this glimpse above the clouds.  It is healthy to be made small by a grand landscape.  Or should I say cloudscape?

But then, my attention is drawn to something much smaller, much nearer.  Ice has begun to form on my window, growing crystal tendrils like a delicate fern.  It surprises me how organic it seems.  How alive.  It is so close, I have trouble getting the camera to focus.

So it is with God’s wonders.  They are grand, expansive, awe-inspiring like the fierce eye of the sun in an unadulterated sky.  And they are delicate, miniscule, easily overlooked, but equally awe-inspiring.

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

Creator of the heavens, maker of delights, the world you maintain by your word is so amazing, because you are amazing.  I cannot fathom how you conceive of such varied beauty, but I humbly receive this lavish gift.  Thank you for this moment of contrast.