Something Beautiful

This morning I took my somewhat customary stroll down the driveway with Elijah's dog Shadow. As she frolicked about and sniffed at every snake hole she could find and I listened to my iTunes playlist, I was mesmerized by the beauty of the morning: how the sunlight penetrated the clouds and seemed to come down in single rays to the ground, how the shadows fell gracefully on some parts of the Sioux River bluff while others were illuminated, and even how the grass and dandelions danced in the breeze.

I see something beautiful every time I go on a walk, even every time I look outside.

When I look at people, I don't always see beauty. Sometimes I see through my Coke-bottle judgment glasses. Sometimes I see stubbornness or laziness or dishonesty. Sometimes I see manipulation or disrespect. Granted, there are those people whom I'm impressed by constantly, but like a personality editor, I have the propensity to spot little inconsistencies in character. That, my friend, tells you more about my character than about those whom I am judging. For the record, I do the same thing with myself.

It's hard for me to imagine a God who loves us regardless.

I am amazed by a God who loves us before and during everything: before failed marriages, during parenting mistakes, before brushes with the law, during alcoholism, before our faith, during our weakness.

In my humanness, I cannot understand, but I am thankful for a God who does. God can and does work through our weaknesses: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me" (2 Corinthians 2:9).

Where we start, God does not leave us. Rather than be complacent with our problems or judgmental of others' issues, we need to see through the rose-colored, blood-soaked, redemptive eyes of Jesus Christ. We are not alone. We are not worthy; we are made worthy through God's sacrifice of His son. Once we truly understand this (and I have a long way to go), I have a hunch that we will see beauty even in all people.

Atta Boy!

Yesterday afternoon my son Caleb graduated with a bachelor's degree from Iowa State University. Besides the fact that he looked dapper in his cap and gown, I was proud of him for other reasons. His program of study was difficult, and he persevered. He made a series of good choices and now will have a career that is just right for his gifts. Not least, he is a terrific role model for his younger siblings.

During the ceremony, we waited for probably a thousand graduates to walk across the stage before it was Caleb's turn, and in those few seconds, we whooped. We hollered. We whistled. Yes, we lost all sense of decorum because we were so proud. We couldn't contain it, so it just spilled out.

I've been to a handful of college graduations and a plethora of high school graduations before, so this was really nothing new. Let me tell you, though, that it took all the self-control I could muster to not stand up and yell, "That's my boy!" because yes, this was different. This one was my child.

If you know me well, you know that I wake up a lot in the night and think. Something about the quiet evidently spurs my brain to decide now! and my thoughts tend to tumble out through my pen or my keyboard.

In the early hours of this morning, I can't help thinking about what it is like in heaven when any one of us makes our Father proud. Now, we know from Psalms that we have angels sent to minister to us: "For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone" (Psalms 91:11).

I like to imagine those angels walking around with cameras to record every moment of goodness: those times when we've encouraged a child, the times we were busy but stopped to help a stranger anyway, the times we've volunteered at a homeless shelter. It makes me wonder: how many times have we made Jesus jump up from his place at the right hand of God, pump His fist, and shout, "Yes! Did you see that?"  Do you suppose there are instant replays in heaven? Does our all-knowing and all-seeing Father gather everyone around to celebrate those victories?

The fact that our Father knows should influence us to act in ways that are pleasing to Him, and I love contemplating how He sees each of us as special and gifted. I don't know about you, but that gives me incredible hope as well as a determination to do my best.

Thank You, Jesus, for my son Caleb. Thank You that just as I am proud of him, You are proud of all of Your children when we do something pleasing to You. Please be with us and guide us, that we will act in ways that are holy and upright and loving. Amen.