Sometimes, it takes a moment of beauty to stop you in your tracks. But behind the layers of perception, that moment isn't always completely beautiful or what it may seem. This photo was taken at a temperature of -3 degrees, but you wouldn't know that by looking at it. You wouldn't know that on they way up to take this picture, dozens of cars were stuck in their driveways by the mounds of ice and snow that made it impossible to leave. Dozens of houses with flat roofs had wet snow accumulating and building up weight that put a strain on their structural capacity.
And yet, beauty transformed the moment. This picture perfect moment was every Boise photographer's dream. The perfect shadows mixed with a blend of fall colors, and the light transcending just briefly over the ridges of the foothills. The moment of beauty was enough to bring peace and tranquility in the midst of "snowmagedden". A moment that left you feeling awestruck and vulnerable at the same time. A moment that made you really treasure the things in your life that you hold dear, and a moment to embrace those whose stories you may not know well enough.
So today, challenge yourself to find what is beautiful.
How many times do you meet someone and not know their story? In the past week, I've stopped to help two cars who couldn't make it from Point A to Point B in their journey. I don't know where they were heading, or where they had come from, but I know they were grateful to meet me even in our two minute exchange. Perhaps they had some challenges in their day. Perhaps they were in an abusive relationship. Or, perhaps they would be one of the nicest people you'd ever meet.
This week, I shoveled my sidewalk and introduced myself to the neighbor I've lived next to for seven years. I had a moment of shame when I realized that she knew my dogs name, but had never met my husband or I. I met a beautiful young woman who was working hard at the McDonald's down the street while she is working on a degree in marketing at the College of Western Idaho. After she pulled her car out to go to work, I shoveled her sidewalk because I could. I don't know the rest of her story, but I was touched by what I did hear.
I played with my dog in a two and a half foot pile of snow. We tried to have a snowball fight, but she just wanted to play fetch and got frustrated when she couldn't find the white ball of fluff that I'd thrown in her direction. She was so tired, she collapsed on my husband as we ended the evening watching the new Jason Bourne movie that had been released at Redbox.
In the midst of a rapidly melting snow pile, potential flooding, and ice-dams building on the gutter line, I live in a house with power, running water, and plenty of food to eat. I have shelter. I have safety. I live in a place where crime and safety are not my top concerns. I live in a place where people genuinely look out for the best interests in others. I get the opportunity to work in a city I love, with a man who is kinder to me than I deserve.
I imagine God plants these moments of beauty on purpose.
