Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time….”
I had opportunity to write this spring from a spot surrounded by beauty. The heavily wooded village of Mt. Gretna is home to cozy cottages with names like Happinest, St. Augustine’s Tavern, Wanderlust. The lovely porches, renowned for their pots of geraniums, tiny twinkling lights and wicker furniture, seem to say, “Come on up and sit a spell.”
Physical beauty is a gift from a Creator God who makes everything beautiful. It offers us a much-needed reprieve from the wear and tear of daily life. And it invites us to unplug, to disengage, at least for a while, from worry and responsibility and unattractive thoughts. As I walk on the rail trail a short distance from my cottage, I discover a world embedded in a canopy of evergreens. It restores my soul. Only the Author of beauty could do that.
God also gives us beauty to help us escape from some of the world’s ugliness. And there’s a lot of ugliness these days, isn’t there? From the aftermath of cyclone strikes in Southeast Africa, to raging wildfires in California to war torn cities in Syria, the loveliness once evidenced in those places has been chased away, replaced with harsh sceneries of devastation. But beauty pushes back against despair and instills within us hope that God will in time turn the ashes into beauty once again (Isaiah 61:3).
So if beauty can be seen in natural creation, how about in God’s highest form? Beauty in you. In me. How can beauty erase the scars of ugly words like “I don’t love you anymore” or “You’re worthless”? How can it bring renewal from cyclones of lies, wildfires of false accusations and wars of unkind actions that have spattered holes on our landscape? I don’t know how, but I know God works through beautiful words like redemption, grace and forgiveness to paint new canvases.
So the next time beauty invites you to “Come on up and sit a spell,” why not go for it? Light a candle at your dinner table or splurge on some flowers. Take a walk in the woods or enjoy a sunset. Maybe compliment the beauty you see in someone else. As you take the time to accept beauty’s invitation, you just might discover how much you needed it.