Although my camera captured the image, it remains etched in my mind.
Standing in the parking lot as I prepared to leave my happy place, I gazed toward the beach scene below and across the way. The beauty of a late August sunset had emerged. Against the blue and orange watercolor-washed sky, I caught the silhouette of a child swinging with abandon on the swings near the beach. And I stared for a few minutes, not wanting to relinquish the recognition that the change of seasons loomed. I longed to savor that moment in my mind.
I delight in warm sunny summer days. The long days of light feel like a healing balm to my skin and my soul. The sound of the waves rhythmically rolling in calms me. Beaches are a familiar place for restoration for me. Growing up in Michigan, they were a natural extended part of my home landscape. Now living in Illinois, I find respite in quick trips to them during the summer. Those late August trips bring about a whirlwind of emotions in the midst of tranquil summer evenings.
Those shorter days remind me that waiting for summer’s end looms on the horizon. A year’s wait begins.
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Never lose an opportunity to see anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.” I hold that August image in my camera and my mind as a reminder that God’s artistry is always at work. In all things. I try to stay watchful for the glimpses of beauty even in the chilly dark days of winter. Yet, I also hold the awareness that in due time, the warmth and the sounds I crave will return. Longing with joyful expectation.
Where do you find rejuvenation? How do you hold space during the in-between?
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“Beauty is God’s handwriting” — love that.