Finding the Beauty in “Past Peak”

17 Oct 2012 1 Comment

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

10-16-2012

Took a walk today, with my camera, to the woods.  I snapped some photos of what I would like to call “past peak”.  The trees and leaves are past peak in terms of fall color.  but I wanted to see if I could still find the beauty of nature in past peak performance.  It was overcast and pleasant temps.  The rainy weekend prevented any walking and I thought the dog and I really needed to get out.  I think I found beauty in some unlikely places.

There is a unique beauty to one tree that has some of its leaves gone and the others in the process of falling and others still holding onto their glory.  All the surrounding trees are bare or brown or evergreens.

It is this one tree that captures my attention.  It stands in stark contrast to its surroundings.  How brave and brazen is this tree?  How dare it still declare its flaming colors to the rest of the world?  When fall color was at peak, this tree didn’t seem so flamboyant surrounded by others sporting like colors.  All the trees melded together to form a vista of beautiful warmth.  But now, this lone tree gets more attention.

There is also this one spot where several tree trunks form a surprise linear composition.  The foliage is not so much the star now, past peak.  The underlying structure of the tree stands out.  I would not have noticed this on my walk two weeks ago.  The beauty of the trunk and limbs and their graceful balance is striking.

              Another beautiful composition that caught my eye is the willow tree and its reflection in the creek.  Also something that I would not have noticed a few weeks ago.  I was so mesmerized by all the color, I missed the lines.

Today I noticed.

These things in nature speak to me.  The beauty of the “past peak” stage.  The truth is, that my age would put me in the category of “past peak”.  A woman in her fifties, not noticed too much in a youth-oriented culture.  I can walk down a street or in the mall and feel invisible.  Overlooked.  I don’t attract attention with flamboyant colors or clothes.

I don’t have that dewy youthful glow anymore.  No one would turn back and look twice at me.

I really don’t mind.  It is freeing to be this invisible.  There is something that shows in me

that is more beautiful than a dewy youthful complexion.  There is a sassiness

and twinkle in my eyes now.  I don’t really care what others think.

I’m comfortable with me.

The beautiful graceful foundation of my character speaks louder than the quality of my clothes.  The audacity of my joy makes me a standout in a world of haters.  And the gorgeous reflection of who I am, I hope, speaks of the One I am trying to reflect.

Peak colors, or past peak, the trees still stand.

The ones that have fallen have fallen naturally, not cut by chainsaws

and the hands of man.

There is a quiet honor about the tree fallen in the woods,

like a soldier dying with his boots on.

     And then there is this peace rose that just won’t quit blooming, no matter how cold the nights have been.

It just keeps producing new buds and blooms.

When all the flowers in the garden were parading their finery, this rose was nearly invisible.

Now, when all other contenders have withered in the frost or gone to seed, this one rose bush is a stand-out.

There is beauty “past peak”.  It may be a different kind of beauty and you may have to search a little harder to find it.    But it is no less stunning.

Blessings, and have a great day!

Leaves and Glory

09 Oct 2012 1 Comment

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized

Leaves and Glory

“3 And even if our gospelis veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The godof this age has blinded  the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ,   who is the image of God.   5 For what we preach is not ourselves,   but Jesus Christ as Lord,   and ourselves as your servants   for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”   made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. ” 

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

I am convinced that even “believers” can have their vision “veiled”, and a veiled believer is often a dangerous person.  We can believe in Jesus as our Saviour and become blinded by many so-called gods of this age.  Especially the god of self-righteousness.  Or the god of self-pity.  Or the god of materialism.  You get the idea.

Autumn is a wonderful time to do a heart check.  Am I blinded or veiled by anything that takes away from the glory of God reflecting in my life?

As the leaves around us turn from calming green to blazing glory, we can assess the “leaves” in our own lives.  What am I “leaving” behind me?

The psalmist says “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life”.  What’s following you?  Is your path strewn with goodness and mercy, which brings glory to God?  Or is the path behind you strewn with people you’ve wounded with judgements and criticism?

Sometimes we can get caught up in running from Bible study to church, to conferences, to seminars.  Just gluttonizing on the scriptures and knowledge.  And we never give back or share or let God really use our lives, broken and spilled out for Him.

All those green green growing leaves, which are not necessarily bad.  Until stresses hit unawares.  Like leaves on a tree that don’t change from green to glory, when the frost hits, those leaves turn black and whither, never reavealing the beauty underneath the green.  Leaves that turn from green to glory survive the frost better and the glory is the broken, spilled out golden blazing hues.

I want my life to reveal God’s glory, not my own.  It’s not easy.  But every time I turn toward God even just a little bit, the veil is brought down.

Every time I have a challenging situation or person to deal with, when I turn toward God, the veil is removed.  And His glory blazes like the sugar maple in full autumnal splendor.

Blazing Glory

02 Oct 2012 Leave a comment

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized

lifefullyinhabited's avatarlifefullyinhabited

There is something about an attitude of acceptance that brings peace to my soul.  if I can graciously accept my situation, my circumstances, my limitations, I am instantly at peace.

I accept what the moment brings me.  I accept where the moment takes me.  I accept who the moment brings me.  I am at peace.

Then there are the stubborn days.  days of resistance.  days of strife.  hard days.  no peace.  anxiety and tension rule the moments that were meant for higher, loftier goals.

This summer I did not do much writing or blogging, but I did a lot of “accepting”.  I am hoping to be able to share some of the fruits of my summer thoughts in my blog over the next several entries.

If you feel like maybe you need an attitude adjustment some days, try adjusting the dial to “acceptance mode”.   Once you do, a whole new…

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Acceptance

02 Oct 2012 2 Comments

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized

There is something about an attitude of acceptance that brings peace to my soul.  if I can graciously accept my situation, my circumstances, my limitations, I am instantly at peace.

I accept what the moment brings me.  I accept where the moment takes me.  I accept who the moment brings me.  I am at peace.

Then there are the stubborn days.  days of resistance.  days of strife.  hard days.  no peace.  anxiety and tension rule the moments that were meant for higher, loftier goals.

This summer I did not do much writing or blogging, but I did a lot of “accepting”.  I am hoping to be able to share some of the fruits of my summer thoughts in my blog over the next several entries.

If you feel like maybe you need an attitude adjustment some days, try adjusting the dial to “acceptance mode”.   Once you do, a whole new world can open up.

Blessings!