IVP - Strangely Dim

See the Beauty

It's finally warming up here (for those of you south of, say, Virginia, "warming up" means "moving out of the forties," "warm enough to take a walk without snow boots on," "smoothie-worthy weather," etc.). Spring is not my favorite season, but it does inspire me. I think it's a powerful time of year. Green grass that's very ordinary in summer and fall is beautiful and vibrant and bright to me in spring. Pink and yellow and purple flowers seem especially pink and yellow and purple. Having the car windows down makes driving feel less like a headache-inducing, anger-filled chore and more like a treat. In this change from winter to spring I find myself noticing things--the newness and novelty and beauty of them.

I've been particularly moved by a plant (which, sadly, has not been named yet; feel free to post suggestions) my sister and I have in our apartment. Small pink flowers have bloomed on it, and each time I water it I'm struck by their brightness and beauty (which, granted, are not fully captured in the picture):

Maybe I get so excited about these small flowers because they give me a sense of pride and accomplishment: this plant is still alive and apparently thriving six months after we bought it. But I don't think that's the only reason. The simple bright beauty of the flowers stirs something in me: wonder, joy, gratitude.

So I'm wondering what stirs you, friends. And wondering if you know how important it is. I'm coming to see more and more how essential it is for me and, I'm convinced, for all of us. In a broken world where evil shows up all over, noticing the beauty around you, paying attention to what moves you, to the things that stir wonder in your soul, is crucial. Whatever it is--whether nature, art, poetry, music, kindness, a three-year-old boy with Down syndrome signing "love" to his mom for the first time--notice it. Celebrate it. Thank God. Thank him that he has created us to be moved by true beauty (as opposed to empty, false "beauty" that's been culturally crafted and defined), and that we can still see it and be moved by it, even after the Fall. These stirrings remind us and call us back to what is truly good and beautiful. And they give us a glimpse of God himself--his creativity, goodness and love of beauty--and his kingdom that is here on earth in part and will be revealed in its fullness when Christ returns.

Sara Groves's song "Why It Matters" says,

Sit with me and tell me once again . . .

Of the beauty, of the beauty

Why it matters . . .

Like the statue in the park

Of this war torn town

And it's protest of the darkness

And the chaos all around

With its beauty, how it matters

How it matters

Noticing the beauty in this Strangely Dim world does matter. It matters so much. So on this spring day, wherever you are, notice what causes your breath to catch, causes something deep inside you to come alive. Notice that beauty. Thank God. And add to it.