The world that our Creator God made is so beautiful. Whatever the season there is beauty in the natural world. Sometime it's obvious; such as when you look at the countryside and lakes of the Lake District or the majesty of the Scottish Highlands or the highest peaks and forests around the globe.
Sometimes man-made objects can enhance nature but more often they encroach on the beauty. Roads and car parks and the like serve a purpose but spoil the look of beautiful places which looked far better without visitor car parks but they are a necessary fact of modern life.
I was thinking this morning, though, that even in the least beautiful place there may be some small beauty which we most always overlook. The bright yellow of a group of humble dandelions flowering in inhospitable surroundings amongst the rubble on a demolition site. Or a small tree growing from the chimney or gutter of an abandoned building. Hanging on, finding nutrients in such an unlikely place and beautiful in its own way even though considered to be weeds.
We were all created by God and he thinks we are all beautiful in some small way so perhaps we should always look for beauty in everybody we meet. In some their beauty is obvious but even in the plain Janes or Johns we should be able to see beauty of some sort. It may not be looks but it might be in the smile or kindness or gentleness in the eyes; the shape of a hand, the wrinkles on a face. There is a measure of beauty in all of us if we have eyes to see and appreciate it.
Sometimes man-made objects can enhance nature but more often they encroach on the beauty. Roads and car parks and the like serve a purpose but spoil the look of beautiful places which looked far better without visitor car parks but they are a necessary fact of modern life.
I was thinking this morning, though, that even in the least beautiful place there may be some small beauty which we most always overlook. The bright yellow of a group of humble dandelions flowering in inhospitable surroundings amongst the rubble on a demolition site. Or a small tree growing from the chimney or gutter of an abandoned building. Hanging on, finding nutrients in such an unlikely place and beautiful in its own way even though considered to be weeds.
We were all created by God and he thinks we are all beautiful in some small way so perhaps we should always look for beauty in everybody we meet. In some their beauty is obvious but even in the plain Janes or Johns we should be able to see beauty of some sort. It may not be looks but it might be in the smile or kindness or gentleness in the eyes; the shape of a hand, the wrinkles on a face. There is a measure of beauty in all of us if we have eyes to see and appreciate it.
