that's the sound of my tread whispering over the shoulder of millrace road.
sunlight and shadows dance over pavement.
tall branches arch and canopy high overhead, buds bubbling over.
a south wind rolls by and flirts with my ponytail.
daffodils smile wide.
skies sing with winged creatures.
rainwater flows slow under the bridge.
a thick carpet of green blades tucks in moist soil.
backyard willow trees bend low and let their hair down long.
cold laundry flaps on the line in crisp air and sun rays.
a scent of pine needles blends with last year's leaves.
puddles reflect majestic clouds.
and all at once, this side road in wainfleet feels a bit like a whimsical fantasy world.
each time i take this route of curves and colours, i am a little bit more compelled to document the awakening around me. the ever-emerging landmarks, nature overtaking my senses and life bursting into bloom.
but as i sit at this pixelated screen, my feeble words strain to even begin to tell of the vibrance i beheld a moment ago. the sights and sounds, tastes and smells of outdoor glory don't easily transfer on a keypad.
sometimes i resort to pictures. browsing filters on instagram, attempting to enhance what my senses absorb so effortlessly.
for we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. when i was a child, i spoke like a child i thought like a child, i reasoned like a child.
when i became a man, i gave up childish ways. for now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.
now i know in part; then i shall know fully, even as i am fully known.
~ 1 corinthians 13:9-12
eugene peterson elaborates -
there is far more to God, who He is and what He is doing, than we can cobble together out of our own resources. and there is far more to us, our earthly life and our eternal souls, than can be comprehended by making a mosaic out of shards of beauty.
~ practice resurrection: a conversation on growing up in Christ
indeed, there is far more.
with each passing hour, far more than our scribbles or melodies or snapshots could ever portray.
and it's humbling -
because in a world where there is so much beauty, so much awakening and glory in sheer creation alone, it makes me wonder how my simple mind could even begin to fathom any more stimulation. like trying to track an ever-turning kaleidoscope, i could never even begin to describe all of the complexities.
it leaves me awestruck -
realizing these divine moments of time and space are just a drop in an ocean of what is to come evokes nothing but wonder and worship. when i pause to consider the weight of His glory and holiness in these heavenly places, i can do nothing but celebrate hope beyond what i can see or imagine. and when i accept the fact that i could never ever justify or arrive at God's greatness, i can be free to express this wonder just as i am, like a child.
He knows that we are dust, and yet somehow, He delights in our praise.
what a treasured resolve - to know that the most majestic expressions and revelations we could ever muster barely flicker next to the power and life He breathes. and within that truth, hold onto a promise that someday every undisclosed longing, injustice, discord and restlessness will be stilled, reconciled, satisfied, by the One who was and is and is to come.
if i find in myself desires nothing in this world can satisfy,
the only logical explanation is that i was made for another world.
~ c.s. lewis
there is a peace in knowing there is more, isn't there?
this is not the end, thanks be to God.
but until that new world is upon us, may we keep getting swept up in the glimmers that He gifts us with, knowing we've barely turned the first page. may we never cease to marvel and rejoice over shards of beauty - believing they all point ahead to one glorious day.
