One autumn when I was in a time of sadness, this friend wrote: “You notice the way the sun sets earlier these days and how it reflects nicely on a window at a certain hour. You and I, we are fortunate to have this gift of observing the constant giving of nature, because in a way it sustains us. I often think that God gives us nature to observe so as to learn from it. How things bounce back… how spring always returns after winter, how there is always something beautiful even in the midst of the coldest winter day, like a sparkling icicle, the quiet glimmer of a winter moon, or holly berries covered in snow. Even in our suffering, it seems that we tend to ‘see’ some beauty in life; it is part of who we are. It is a great gift.”
A great gift, indeed. It is my belief that we all have this gift, a present from our God Who gave us a colorful, ringing, singing world.... and senses with which to notice. I hope to take a moment, today, to notice and be thankful for something God has made.
Photo © 2010 N Shuman, all rights reserved
