The place where all the beauty comes from
Mike Willock writes: I was struck by the opening lines of the October 18 worship service.
"It was when I was happiest that I longed most...The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing...to find the place where all the beauty came from.” - C. S. Lewis
At the end of the Forest Park prayer service on October 11, my eye was caught by flashes of magenta in the grass at my feet, lit by the setting sun. I bent down and took this picture. You can see that each tiny bloom on its little stem is smaller than your little finger, and you have to look closely to see its structure and the delicate shading of its color.
It reminded me of a spirituality class exercise taught years ago at Todd Hall by Rev. Belden Lane. Belden is an honorably retired PC(USA) pastor who usually sits in the front row of the east transept at Second. After lunch, the class was asked to walk outside and spend about 30 minutes looking for signs of God. My first sighting was a flower blooming in the decaying center of a tree stump near the dining hall. My second, farther on, was hearing movement in the brush about 30 feet away from my chosen path. Try as I might, I could not see the s
ource, but only discern it by the sound it made in passing. Near the end of our time, I was walking back to Todd Hall along the entry road I had driven the previous day when my eye was caught by streaks of white along the roadside. Bending down, I saw they were miniature fields of tiny white flowers – each bloom much smaller than my little fingernail – perfect little flowers in a neglected place exposed to the dust and danger of passing vehicle traffic.
ource, but only discern it by the sound it made in passing. Near the end of our time, I was walking back to Todd Hall along the entry road I had driven the previous day when my eye was caught by streaks of white along the roadside. Bending down, I saw they were miniature fields of tiny white flowers – each bloom much smaller than my little fingernail – perfect little flowers in a neglected place exposed to the dust and danger of passing vehicle traffic.
I find it’s easy to see beauty where you expect it — in a garden or an art museum or in a sunset. What is harder is to train your inner eye to be open to see beauty where you don’t expect it. God has fashioned the world with complexity and beauty that can delight our eyes and nurture our souls if we are prepared and open to recognize it. Indeed, to borrow from C. S. Lewis, God is the place where all the beauty in our lives and in our world comes from. Amen.
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