I’m sitting on the plane on my way back to Sierra Leone. I
usually appreciate that the part of the flight where we fly over the ocean is
in the late evening, just so I can sleep through that part and not think about
the big, wide, pitch black, open ocean. I usually close my window as the sun is
setting, since it’s right in my eyes, and watch a movie as I drift off.
I haven’t been able to fall asleep yet, and I decided to
pull up the blind to see if I could see any land still. I looked back and could
only see glimmers of land left through the clouds. As I looked out, I saw one
of the most incredible skies. It went from black, to red, and then in a rainbow
back to black. We are well above the clouds, so there is not a single thing in
the way of seeing the stars. The sky is painted in this incredible rainbow, and
the stars are speckled all throughout it. It’s quiet. Almost numbing, but it’s
the most peaceful picture I think I’ve ever seen. The world is below us, under
the clouds, maybe under the rain. But from up here, we can see what it is
supposed to look like.
We are supposed to be able to see the stars, humbling
ourselves enough to understand how truly small we are, and how big our God is.
We are supposed to be able to see the rainbows throughout something
as simple and regular as the sun setting and rising.
We are supposed to be able to quiet ourselves enough to feel
peace within the silence.
We are supposed to become even more aware of how truly
beautiful this world is, how perfectly it was made for us.
We are supposed to be able to see past the clouds.
We are supposed to see black fade to red, going through
every color.
Finding beauty should not be a game of hide and seek. It’s
here. Under us, in front of us, behind us, below us.
Up here, there isn’t war. There isn’t jealousy. Hatred.
Separation. Anger. Resentment. Exhaustion. Guilt.
I wish there were a way to climb up here and sit. Alone,
quiet, and with God. Truly admiring His beauty without the muck, without the
clouds, without the darkness to trudge through.
I wish there was a way to pause this, freeze it and show it
to everyone I love.
Find your thing. Maybe it’s a rare flight, or maybe it’s a
garden, sitting watching your family play, or listening to the perfect song.
Find your beauty…….find what was given to you and maybe has been in front of
you the whole time. Find what has been there, but maybe you kept the blind
closed, or closed it just a tad too early.
Climb your ladder towards the stars and sit. Appreciate it,
breathe it in, and be truly and deeply grateful for the sight you have. There
is too much that gets in the way of it on a day-to-day basis. When someone
hands you a painting and tells you it’s a masterpiece, do you instantly try to
find the flaws, or do you sit and try to see the beauty? Do you try to find
what is so magical about it, just to catch a glimpse of what everyone else
might see?
We’re in one. We are in an incredible masterpiece. Look
around at it.
