I’ve lived in the Midwest my entire life and every year, even though by now I have circled the sun enough to understand seasons, the leaves changing hits like a beautiful surprise. I’ll look out my window at the tree line that serves as our back fence or at the mix of pines and brightly-colored maples and oaks that cover our little college town and be amazed at how this seemingly innocuous, literally natural process can have such a profound impact on my outlook. I recently realized the power of fixing my eyes on beautiful things when—on a particularly frustrating day—I hopped in my car, ready to tell God how annoyed I was by various situations, but caught a glimpse of a cluster of trees that were the perfect blend of fall colors. I stopped mid-lament and simply told the Lord, “Wow. You’re beautiful. Thank you for being beautiful even when life feels like it’s falling apart.”
It wasn’t a long prayer. It wasn’t sophisticated. I wasn’t—as far as I can tell—staring at the face of God but I caught a brief glimpse of His handiwork. And with Him, even brief glimpses are incredibly powerful. My mood shifted; my circumstances and frustrating situations did not.
Romans 1:19-20 tell us that what can be known about God is plain to see, that God has shown us; that “His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” We see His power and awe-inspiring beauty in the things He has made. I think fall leaves in the Midwest are a prime example.
It’s so easy in our world today to become distracted by our work, by political divisions, by tragedy at home and abroad. We get entrenched in our jobs—even if at first for noble reasons—and at some point down the line, look up to find ourselves in places (physically, mentally, spiritually) where we never thought we’d go.
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