They say that trouble comes in threes, but I believe that beauty can as well, at least that was my experience today. It began with an early afternoon trip to Great Falls with my sister and her family. It was a perfect day, weather wise to go out to the park and see the water. Our plan was not to stay for very long; we were mostly there to “do recon” and see if it was a place worth spending time at. The answer is a resounding yes, though I have to explore different areas of the park until I find a place that feels just right, where I can sit for a time and enjoy the sounds of the rushing water. There are two parks, one on either side of the Potomac River–one in Maryland, the other in Virginia. Today we were in the park on the Maryland side. Next I will go visit the Virginia side of the river to see what there is to see there. I was grateful for the experience of the sound and beauty of the area and to be able t spend that time with my family.
As we walked along the main path, I spotted a deer in the woods across one of the small waterways. After watching it for a minute or two, I realized that it was a fawn and after watching for a few minutes more discovered a second fawn that had been lying in the tall weeds close to the first one. I pointed it out to my niece, handing her my camera and encouraging her to get some photos. Tonight when I got home and looked at the photos she’d taken of the deer, the falls, and other items of interest at the park, I was caught by the beauty of the markings on the fawns–the white splotches against the light brown fur was remarkably beautiful. And I was reminded of the sheer beauty that surrounds us all the time. Failure to recognize such beauty is a shame. It reminds me of the line from Alice Walker’s, The Color Purple, “I think it pisses God off when you walk by the color purple in a field and don’t notice it.” I’m don’t know whether it pisses God off or not, to me it’s simply sad to be surrounded by beauty and not notice and give thanks for it.
Twin Fawn, Great Falls Maryland
The final bit of beauty I witnessed was so small I almost missed it. As I was closing the blinds in my bedroom as evening descended I noticed a flash of light outside. Wait…was that what I thought it was. I waited for it to come again, before jumping up with my camera and running outside. Lightening bugs! I grew up in the Midwest where the arrival of lightning bugs in June signalled summer had indeed arrived. The flashes of light I saw this evening were the first fireflies (which we grew up calling “lightening bugs”) I’d seen since I’d moved away from Michigan nearly eight years ago. You would have thought I’d seen the rarest and most elusive creatures ever and had any of my neighbors seen me burst out the back door headed for the backyard might have thoughts I was nuts. But I had to see the lightening bugs and welcome them back into my life. I definitely now know that I am indeed back in familiar stomping grounds: between the lightening bugs, the northern cardinals, the snow in the winter, I am most assuredly back.
As tempting as it was, I didn’t jump into my car to go looking for the “super moon” this evening–I was too tired. It’ll have to keep until next year–unless I get out and catch it tomorrow. I’m just nutty enough to do that very thing and be perfectly happy about it. I am grateful for the beauty that rests all around me and for the capacities God has given me to appreciate it.
