Snow and Ice Diamonds

 

I have been in and out of every door in my home this morning photographing the
sunshine through the ice with layers of snow, and as the light changed, the images
changed.  This exquisite light brings hunger for more of what God would make known of
Himself through these masterpieces of nature. It is such a gift of beauty. I
am realizing more and more what a gift it is that He has given me a desire to
create beauty beyond what I can comprehend; this hunger to see more of His
creation in every nuance flows from the eternal vacuum He has placed in my
heart. It can only be satisfied with what He makes known to me each day through

the joy of delighting in Him through the lens of all that He has made... and I think I
could not find such joy in these things without the Word engraved in my heart,
illumined by His Spirit.   He richly gives beauty above the mundane and
ordinary which we need as well, but this beauty lifts our eyes above our circumstances
to rejoice in the Beautiful One... yes, we need food, clothing and shelter to care for

Our physical being and God provides more than enough than the bare

necessities, exceedingly much more!
In giving gifts through the years, I almost always have chosen to give gifts

of a special nature rather than purchase something from a list. 

Isn't this what God does for us? We ask for crumbs, and would be content.

 Yes, He provides the drink of water.

Yes, He provides morsels of food to sustain our bodies.

But it is our souls that He feeds with such beauty beyond what we
could have imagined. He also gives us the desire to see. For those
with the gift of sight, the hunger for beauty, and the will to glorify Him
through the illumined scenes, He stops us and pulls us up short

with glorious moments in His light,  He enthralls us with moments so glorious

that we stand speechless in awe of the Creator, until we become so filled with His joy

that we must respond in  some creative manner and allow that joy to overflow to others.

Sometimes the splendor is so glorious we can scarcely breath; when we catch our breath it
must be expelled with words of praise to our Maker. We are to write, to tell,
to remember the works of God Who in every way provides light for our way,
no matter our circumstances.
     This morning was such a morning... such beauty before me that I could
not come back in the house, though I was freezing. I do not know what the
photographs will look like, I only know I was compelled to take them to record
and tell others of the beauty revealed before me.  I think of Abraham as the Lord

told him to come outdoors and see if he could count the stars. Could he number the

grains of sand along the shore?  This morning was so full of splendor that I could not

count the diamonds of ice that transformed the forest into a glorious display of the

Lord’s glory through what He created. I am a child who is full of delight in the

incomprehensible feast set before me. Can you imagine what is yet to be?

 Let all whom He has given breath praise Him!