Beauty 

   As I go through life there is so much beauty to be seen.  The beauty of the skies, the oceans, the stars of night.  These are obvious, but there is so much to be seen that most people simply overlook.

   I have several rose bushes of varying colors in my yard.  I look at them and I wonder, why did God make roses?  What purpose do they serve?  Perhaps there are purposes for them that I don’t know about but the only purpose I see is their beauty, both visual and the wonderful scent of the blooms.

   Imagine the intricacy of a snowflake.  Billions and billions of flakes fall to earth each year but no two are exactly alike.  To what purpose?  If the only reason for snow to exist is to bring moisture to the land why do they need to be so delicate, so wonderfully intricate and beautiful?

   Since the beginning of time we have looked with amazement at the skies, the stars, the constellations and nebulae, including our own milky way.  Now, with the incredible photos coming from the Hubble telescope and the images from the various space exploration vehicles that have been launched we see even more of the magnificence of God’s creation.  And it goes on and on and on, seemingly with no end.

   Yes, I know there is ugliness in the world as well; the hatred, the bias, the abuse we sometimes heap upon each other.  The marvelous gifts God has given us are looked upon as our right rather than the magnificent blessings of a loving God and are often simply ignored.  The ugliness is there, but it can never overcome the beauty unless we allow it to do so.

   We must always look to the beauty and do our best to correct the ugliness, but most of all we must look to God with praise and thanksgiving for the many blessings He continues to bestow upon us.