A Sunrise

It is dark. A cool wind blows in the night. As I sit, the darkness begins to dissipate. Black turns to a deep blue, deep blue softens and brightens. Then, a single ray pierces the sky, and the colors begin to burst. The day has arrived, and colors splash across the horizon. The night bids farewell as the stars and moon fall back to sleep, and the day begins. The shadow of darkness is replaced with the brilliance of light, as the grass yawns and and the flowers reach for the breath of sunlight they have been waiting all night for. I feel the rays begin to embrace my visage as the gentle wind caresses me. Day has come, and has banished the darkness of night. The horizon continues to be a beautiful, vibrant display, as the sun claims its rightful place on the throne of the heavens.

Every detail is picturesque, every detail painted to perfection. I watch, in awe, as the sky delights in the glory of the artist who set it into motion.

Who am I, that you are mindful of me?

A Shoreline

I stand, still, and let the air flow around me. I breathe in deeply, and feel the light salt air cascade through my throat, refreshing and rejuvenating. The slow reverberation of the waves soothe me as they flow, back and forth, back and forth, like the gentle rock of a mother’s arms. The sand beneath my feet is soft yet coarse, and I feel a tingle of unexpected cool as a rogue splash of saltwater shocks the tips of my toes and quickly is absorbed by the ground below. In front of me, the blue expanse of the ocean stretches until it touches the sky, colliding perfectly in an almost indiscernible line. The scent of the shoreline is captivating, dancing across my nose, twirling and spinning with vibrant beauty, and the breeze of the summer wind embraces me like the arms of an old friend.

I stand, still, in the midst of this perfection, listening with baited breath as the ocean sings its praises to the One who created it.

Who am I, that you are mindful of me?

A Sunset

The long day winds down, and the sun grows larger and larger in the distance. As it slowly falls, magic begins to dance across the sky. Colors, vibrant and beautiful, cascade around me. The blue of the sky mixes with the bleeding sun, as its colors spill out across the expanse of the waning day. Yellow mixes with a deep orange mixes with a magenta pouring into a light pink, like the atmosphere has erupted into glorious, beautiful flame. As the sun dips beneath the horizon, the colors grow and shape with the clouds, creating a unique masterpiece. The movement of the sky is indiscernibly slow, but it creates a depth that cannot be captured through the lens of a camera, and must be simply experienced. The art of the sky fades as the brightest star finishes its descent, the final line on the horizon silencing the masterpiece. The colors remain, slowly replaced by the darkness of night, and a new masterfully composed symphony of light appears in the night sky.

The sun bids farewell to its maker for the night, knowing that it will rise again the next morning, and will paint the morning with rays of glory.

Who am I, that you are mindful of me?

A Tapestry

The night sky stretches above me, clear and beautiful. The moon stands alone, but not for long. It beckons, stretching out its beams, for its friends to join. One by one, each star winks into existence, and the beauty of the expanse above our Earth begins to take shape above us. Constellations, nebulas, and the sparkle of distant worlds and galaxies intrigue and enchant the imagination. Laying in the softness of the grass, staring into the sky, I feel my body begin to float through the universe. Each star is close enough to touch, each world can be held in the palm of my hand. In the hustle and bustle of the day, I do not remember that I am latched onto a ball of beauty suspended in the vast magnificence of a universe, but here… here that is all I am. A piece of a universe so incomprehensible it cannot be explained rationally without the help of imagination.

Suspended in the heavens, I can feel the creator of the stars, of the sun, of the moon, of the Earth… He shows me all of the beauty of creation, and smiles. All of these things I have created, but none are more precious to me than you.

Who am I, that you are mindful of me?

Beauty is all around us. It is in the wind, in the sand, in the dirt, in the sky, in the stars, in the flowers, in the grass, and in one another. One thing we can forget about our world is that everything, everywhere, has been molded and shaped by God. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth.” Created. Now, I am no expert, but I believe that it is commonly accepted that in order to create, one must be an artist. All creation is art, be it a painting, a story, or a machine built to perform a specific function. God just happens to be the greatest artist in the entire realm of existence. He has created an entire universe to praise Him through its beauty. And we are the only beings other than God and perhaps the angels that have been created to appreciate beauty. We have been given dominion over the plants and the animals and all the Earth, and I believe that this is not simply a command to eat, drink, and enjoy the fruits of the Earth, but also gives us the responsibility to explore the beauty of creation, because it is our birthright. We should be reaching our arms into the Earth, and seeing the beauty of what lies on the ocean floor, deep beneath our reach. We should be exploring the unknown, seeking beauty all around the Earth. And sharing that beauty with others. I have seen and heard Christians who oppose the space program, funds being used to bring down rocks from a dead universe, and to that I say, why? God has created a universe full of other planets, stars, nebulas, and beauty, and it is ours to explore, if for no other reason than to see what other works of art God has created. We will never be able to see all of the beauty in the universe, which is one of the most amazing things about creation. That way, there will always be more beauty to see, both on our planet and outside of it. God created man to admire beauty, and appreciate the world around them on a level deeper than superficial. And even with all of this beauty, God still considers us to be his greatest creation.

My call to you is simple. Every day, go outside and find something beautiful. It could be as big as the night sky, or as small as the intricacies in a leaf freshly fallen from a tree. Because there is beauty everywhere, and it exists to remind us that we are not alone, and that we are special beyond compare.

And ask yourself the question that has boggled the hearts and minds of Christians for centuries.

Who are we, that you are mindful of us?

Psalm 148