Where Can We See Beautiful?

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Picture taken by Dianne in New Orleans, LA, May 2012, aboard a riverboat on the Mississippi River, post Katrina

In the everyday moments, where can you see beautiful?

In the angelic lines of eyes and mouth when a child is sleeping?

Felt in the embrace of a spouse greeting you after an arduous day at work? In the slow, refreshing pitter-patter of the rain?  In the sharing of a friend’s tears as she pours out her heart and soul as she searches for meaning amidst the pain?  In the giggle of a child?  As tasted in a bite of fresh fruit?  As you watch the flow of a river?  As you laugh out loud when reading a book?  As you listen to someone with a different faith and from a different continent talk of his love of God?  As you run?  As you struggle with writing the next piece?  As you recognize that the struggle is what makes the next piece?  In the memories of a love letter from long ago?  In the collection of bugs stapled to a board for a science project?  In the touch of the warm sand underneath your feet?  In the sweat and push of that last extra uphill battle of the hike?  In intimacy?  In the fever breaking?  In the unhurried gaze into a friend’s eyes?  In the phone call from a friend?  In the expectations of tomorrow?  In the clear, steady hand of a competent dentist?  In understanding of a heartache?  In looking deep to an issue and wanting to make sense of it all?  In the “yes” of the adoption news?  In the stroke of a paintbrush?  As you continue to recognize the benefits of being a beginner?  In the movement of our bodies?  As we recognize the sensitivity and magnitude of our skin’s design?  In the release of a teardrop?  The taste of Starbucks coffee?  In the opening of our heart?  In the breaking open of our heart through hurt?  In the gleeful cry of a child’s delight?  In the sitting and just being with a friend, no conversation needed?  In the twinkle of a star?  In the calm of silence?  In the completion of a critical conversation?  In the trust and mystery of God?  In the hurt and hardship of disease?  In the revelation that we might be wrong?  In learning the meaning and pronunciation of a new word?  In the capacity to cherish oneself in the face of one’s own imperfections?  When we feel the rough edges of defense smooth away so we can genuinely feel another’s care?  At a Bon Jovi concert?  In observing the waving of the flag of your country? In seeing others help those who are hurting?  In the blooming of a bulb…bursting out of the earth through the snow?  In the birds singing gleefully?

In reading a novel that transports us to a journey we have not yet taken? In hearing the cry at the birth of a baby?  In a road trip with our kids?  In a deep conversation with a partner?  In a lighthearted conversation with a new friend/acquaintance?  In the anticipatory opening of a letter from a friend?  In the acceptance of a difficult reality?  In the letting go of an unrealistic expectation?  In the deepening of our faith through an experience of our own, not from someone telling us “how” or “what” to believe?  In keeping vigil with a loved one who’s dying?

In the welcoming of life in its every brokenness and beauty?