Eternal Beauty... now...

There are things, people, places, events, and experiences that at various times have made life seem real... and by real I mean in an eternal sense... as if for brief moments there are tiny tears in the space-time continuum and a little bit of eternal beauty leaks through... little bitty snatches of time where life on this earth doesn't seem like a shadow of something greater because what I'm seeing, feeling, hearing, smelling, tasting in those precious seconds is so amazing that it has to be the authentic non-shadow thing. I used to wait for these kinds of experiences to happen to me... and they do happen. But in recent weeks I've found myself looking for them in places I walk and drive everyday... in people I see often... in foods I eat frequently... and... you get the idea. And while not every second of everyday is overflowing with sweetness and awesomeness from that Place of Eternal Beauty (where nothing is a shadow), I have seen and experienced way more tears in the space-time continuum on a daily basis now that I am looking for them. And I give all thanks to my Creator for that. Below is a list... and it might end up being a very long list... of times when that eternal beauty has trickled through a tear onto my life... These things are wonderful and good and amazing in and of themselves, but they all point me to and compel me to worship my Creator.

• tulips


• a cardinal perched in a yellow flowering bush


• my husband's beard


• my daughter's hands, fingers, and fingernails on the day of her birth... perfect... as if she had just gotten a french manicure or something


• wind rustling in the orange and yellow autumn leaves of Colorado aspen trees, vivid blue sky above


• coffee


• Dubliner cheese


• pepperoni pizza with extra cheese


• standing on top of the Mount of Olives overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem at night


• the flowering trees along Capitol Parkway


• a freshly painted room


• my dining room table set for dinner for 12


• the Picasso hanging in my living room


• sipping cappuccino alone at an outdoor cafe in Venice's St. Mark's Square


• laying in the middle of the golf course with my college friend Kristin staring up at the stars


• Pinot Noir


• hiking down to Crater Lake with my mom


• seeing the Cliffs of Moher with my husband


• singing worship songs beside a Colorado alpine lake with my sister and my friend Susan


• eating deep fried spinach leaves on that same Colorado trip, lots of laughter around the dinner table that night


• cross country skiing with my husband at night in Pioneers Park


• my yellow lab


• watching the sun rise from the top Mt. Sinai... Amazing Grace being sung in several different languages around me


• Nebraska cornfields green with spring and early summer


• singing with Crystal and Melissa, making music with Megan, Lori, and Brook


• hitting the perfect tee shot


• guacamole


• my daughter asleep in my arms


• walking though unbelievably green Irish sheep pastures with my husband


• biking in Palo Duro Canyon


• singing with Furman Singers... 100 voices echoing off the walls of a stone church... singing in Latin, Russian


• playing Nertz with Amber, Kate, and Amber... laughing hysterically... praying together before every advanced calculus exam


• women's LIFE group from Trinity in Amarillo... worshiping together in the back room of Divine Grind


• skipping class to go hike at Table Rock State Park, SC


• sailing with Kelly on Glen Lake, Michigan


• putting on my favorite pair of jeans


• watching a baby moose frolic and play in a lake in Glacier National Park


• my cousin and I secretly dropping water balloons on unsuspecting people at youth camp


• the first time I kissed Scott


• the Unit Circle


• walking out of the store with my brand new Martin guitar


• singing Be Thou My Vision at the top of my lungs in the Furman chapel... all alone in there


• seeing U2 in concert


• sunrays filtering through the trees on UNL's campus


• slow-pitch softball


• taking communion at Grace with my husband

To be continued???