A Softer Shade of Beauty

School is back in session so we're getting up and out early. This morning, while I was loading the car, I could see pink through the garage windows. I ran to the ones that face the front of the house and saw some faint streaks of pink. That little bit of pink sifted through the trees onto the grass, the driveway, and the curled-up leaves on the driveway, and turned them all a softer shade of beauty. When I will realize that when morning breaks, I should be out on my porch drinking it in? I need to figure out how to carve out some morning minutes for that.

Beauty Before the Blue

“The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

On our daily drive to school, my daughter and I take a long, winding back road lined with older houses and mature flowering trees and hardwoods. Spring and fall are my favorite seasons, and during those months, the scenery on the side of the road is a show-stopper.

But one chilly morning, as we started our drive, it was the scene above that grabbed our attention. The sunrise stunned us. While we wound our way on that curvy road in the early morning light, we caught glimpses of brilliant colors through the branches overhead. We talked about each color as it intensified and then faded a few minutes later.

“I see pink!” she’d cry.

“I see orange!” I’d say.

As we watched, I thanked God out loud for the beauty in the sky. A few minutes later, my daughter said, “I think God did that just for us. He knew we’d be on the road right now.”

“Yes,” I said, smiling to myself. “He knew how much we’d love it.” And He knew I’d talk to her about the One who created it. The beauty of that sunrise and of that moment with my daughter filled my heart with praise. Awe and gratitude stayed with me long after the colors disappeared into the blue.