Ponderings
When I was very young, I climbed the magnolia in my grandfather’s backyard. The tree was easy sport, with strong limbs and robust leaves. Under the dome of branches, the warm summer breeze danced along the leaves. My family communed on the porch below. Glory be to God.
Photograph courtesy of Mary Christine Helms
Dripping with the cold beads of winter’s rain, the bare branches of sleeping trees look frozen in time. A chill wind stirs, creating brief movement in tired January. Yet in this month of cold, the bare branches show what is hidden in summer months: bird’s nests, hawks, bluebirds, egrets, and birds I don’t know the names of, all suddenly visible. Glory be to God.
Spindly spider webs of bare trees stretch above me in a canopy of dark gray. The sky beyond it is an inky black, with only small spots of stars shining through the murk. Lampposts illuminate the trees all around, creating a cocoon of branches. Glory be to God.
Some days I forget that the stars sparkle in the night sky. Yet on midnight drives I catch a glimpse of the shimmering glory of the heavens, distant worlds reflecting the magnitude and beauty of our God. Glory be to God.
On a particularly rainy day, I decide to take a path different from the one I frequent. On this new path, I find an old, dead oak tree at the end of an unpaved walking trail. It is magnificent. This tree had a rich life, where many have gazed at it. Glory be to God.
Flecks of gold shimmer under the slow ripples of a cold river. The sun pierces the moving water to illuminate rocks below, dancing with the clear water to create flickering yellow fire. A light breeze carries a crisp scent of mountain air and mountain stream. A cool spring day in the mountains. Glory be to God.
In the birth of spring, as the leaves sprout green, I walk along the lake. I rest in the grove of trees budding in the growing warmth. The sun sprouts rays of glorious yellow through the wind-tossed branches. A new season, a rebirth. Glory be to God.
The sun beams so bright in the midday that I cannot open my eyes but for a moment. As I stumble blindly the rays kiss my skin in a warm embrace. I close my eyes, reveling in the blessing of this heat. God set this body in motion, blessing us with the gift of life-giving light. Glory be to God in the highest.