On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. It flowed down the center of the main street. And with it I receive you, in it, by it, through it-your love, your goodness, your life.Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. I will often pray, Thank you for this beauty. Pause when you are offered beauty and make the conscious decision, I receive this grace. We live so braced, not openly, but quite subtly-braced for the day, braced by the assault on our attention, braced by the noise around us. Let it bring to you God’s love, his tenderness, his rich goodness. Stop and pick it up! In these moments you open yourself and receive the beauty, the gift, the grace-receive it into your being. Too often we just notice and go on, like a pedestrian who steps over a hundred-dollar bill lying on the sidewalk. Receive it for the gift it is! Pause, and let the beauty minister to you. Given beauty’s healing effects, given how it soothes the soul and opens us up to the goodness of God, I hope you will intentionally do two things: And I have not even mentioned flowers, vases, music, fine art, and the beautiful things we use to decorate our homes. Rainwashed streets in the city at night, drops of water on your windshield. A field of grass, especially as the wind plays through it. Leaves themselves-their shape, texture, the lacelike patterns running through them. The frost on the stalks of dried grasses this morning looked like tiny gladiolas made of glass or the calligraphy of fairies. The infinitely creative patterns of frost. The way sunlight falls on your kitchen table in the morning. The intricate pattern and color of tree bark (stop and look touch it). In the shimmering shadows sunlight creates through any foliage. Albans story to remind my urban readers beauty can be found even in noisy, congested cities.) But intimate beauty is just as healing, perhaps more so, and available everywhere. Yes, epic beauty is worth traveling to see–the Himalaya, the Maasai Mara, Yosemite, any tropic island. God has strewn beauty across the globe in such generous portions we have only to stop and notice, paying particular attention to the intimate. You don't need to travel far to find beauty.
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