That nameless something..

God knows us. 
I mean He really knows us. 


I could go many different directions with this, like Psalm 139, one of my favorites that details God truly knowing us from the deepest inside out because He created us, but this time I just wanted to show the aspect that He knows how to reach us. He knows what will break our hearts and what will leave us in awe.  He knows this about people in general, but also the uniqueness in each individual. And it's so incredible because  He not only carries us through our pain, but on the flip side, He draws us closer and captivates us in the many ways He reveals His beauty. And I must say, though I hold up every aspect of God in all of it's glory and reverence and they do all reach me, His beauty truly romances me. 

So, I absolutely LOVE watching the skies. Do you know what I mean? They're constantly changing and no matter the weather or the time of day, whether light or dark, they're just so beautiful. The other day I was pulling out from home to go to work in the morning and I could see just a tiny glimpse of light from the east before the sunrise. Just from that small sighting I knew it would be something great. So as I turned onto the road for work I went, not in the direction of my store, but to the east where I would soon see the sun. I just couldn't help myself. And let me tell you, it was magnificent. Though photos can never fully capture it, here's something of what I saw.  It was a moment of awe for me. The clouds and streams of light expanded as though they were paving the way for something great, something powerful. The sun. It was a moment of witnessing God's glorious creation in the stillness of the early morning and at the same time a beautiful metaphor for the coming King. 
While we're at it, let's take a little look at a recent sunset too..

love it.


I've recently just begun reading, by suggestion of a dear friend,  A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken, which I already love, and in which he describes his first aesthetic experience. He says, 


 "...suddenly something that was, all at once, pain and longing and adoring had welled up in him, almost choking him. He had wanted to tell someone, but he had no words, inarticulate in the pain and glory...That nameless something that had stopped his heart was Beauty."


Though I've just begun, I already recommend this book!


This real, true, magnificent beauty I see all around me, in big ways and small ones as well. Tonight I visited my dear, sweet two-year-old niece, Sophia, whom I just adore. We had a moment together, while in the middle of a conversation with my brother, in which she smiled at me mysteriously. I smiled and gave her a questioning look to which she subtly nodded. I returned the same nod and she filled with excitement and joy, laughing and turning around. We had shared our own special little secret, and it was a big deal. It's things like this that make my heart overflow.


So, tell me, where do you find beauty?


"The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, and all the trees of he field will clap their hands." Isaiah 55:12