This morning I looked out the window and was reminded of one of my favorite movies: Shadowlands. It is the story of C.S. Lewis as played by Anthony Hopkins. It focuses on Lewis’ years well into his conversion when he marries his wife, Joy. At one point he is sitting in a library at Oxford talking to one of his Inkling friends about March, that is late winter. He talks about how the snow is gone and the gray rains have come. Not the beautiful rains of April or May, but the dark rains of winter. He calls this time “the waiting room of the world”. If you have not seen the movie or read any of C.S. Lewis’ work, I highly recommend it all. My favorite of his is the novel Til We Have Faces, which I read every year or two.
Looking out my window, I see his point. The grass is still brown and the sky is that gray that is only seen in winter. If I was in Montana, I would expect snow, but here in Virginia it is rain. The hope of spring is beginning. The world around me is in a yawning phase. The bulbs are beginning to poke out of the ground, except for the daffodils which are standing erect waiting for a sunny day to open up their golden blooms. Many of my daffodils were destroyed by our heavy snowstorms last month. They came up too early and our typical mid-February storms ruined them. There are a few that will bloom, but many I will have to wait to see again until next year.
Spring is a glorious time of year in these parts. There really is nothing like it. The trees bloom in incredible colors and the tulips dance in the breeze. Perhaps my love of spring is tied to my April birth, but more than anything it is my connection to dirt and flower that solidifies my joy. This time of year means that garden season is near. That time when I can wander local greenhouses and Lowe’s to find new beauty for our yard. All the colors, shapes, and sizes remind me of what a joyful Artist God is in His Creation. Whether it is a delicate little flower or a large tree, God demonstrates Himself to us through His secondary causes (think creation).
The cliche of stopping to smell the roses is a cliche precisely because it is true. In our adult lives we can quickly abandon the beauty around us because we are so busy and focused on ourselves. I am thankful that I have never lost my childhood wonder. It is something that neither of my parents have lost either. My mother taught me the love of earth and flowers, and my dad has taught me the wonder of theology and philosophy. Growing up in Montana, the grandeur of nature becomes imbedded in the soul and experience. Moving to Virginia showed me a different side of God’s beauty, as has every other place that I have lived whether it is the coast of California, the white buildings of Washington, DC, or the farmlands of central England.
Beauty is everywhere and it is universal. It is everywhere because God is beauty and that is reflected in His creation. Since He is beauty, it would be impossible for us to live in an ugly universe. It may be hard at times to see it, but we only have to open our eyes to find it. I see it in my daughter’s smile, the sun streaming through her hair, or in her laugh. I see it in my husband talking to our daughter after temper tantrums or him sketching out plans for our garden. I see it in this “waiting room” through the increase in birds flying about and the green of tulips beginning in my front yard. I see it in the buds on the skeleton trees that hold the promise of May. I see it in the strength and courage of people who are afflicted. Beauty is in the quiet places and in the hard places. It is God whispering to us. I see it most clearly in the Blessed Sacrament who is Christ Himself given as our manna from Heaven.
We have to look, though. We have to look up and out. Instead of internalizing and focusing on the millions of things we have to do, we must take moments to pause and wonder. There is a reason Jesus tells us to be like little children. Children wonder at everything. The world is new and glorious. Adults are marred by pain and suffering, but that wonder cannot cease. That wonder can be found in a novel, a building, a person, flower, mountains, ocean, blades of grass, the universe is the limit. I frequently go into Google Images and search out beauty that I have never seen before.
When I was a child of 8 or 9, I wanted nothing more than to be an Astronomer. My prized possessions (besides the Pink Panther stuffed toy my mother had given me at birth) were two books about the planets and universe. We couldn’t afford many, so these were truly special to me. I would spend hours pouring over them and looking in amazement at the vastness and indescribable beauty of it all. Venus was my favorite planet. Unfortunately, my love was tempered by my lack of gifts in mathematics and the natural sciences. God had something else in mind for me. I still search out images of far off galaxies, stars, planets, and beauty. Looking at a picture of the Horsehead galaxy still takes my breath away. I can almost hear the angels of Heaven singing to God’s glory when I see it; the beauty is that amazing to me.
In our fast paced culture we can lose sight of the beauty around us. As a friend of mine frequently says: “God woos us through beauty”. God wants to share His love and beauty with each one of us. God is always giving Himself, which is infinite, but we have to accept. Think of a courtship, in order for a woman to be wooed, she must accept the affections. The same goes for God and each one of us. God gives everything to us, most especially in the Sacraments, but he will not violate our free will. He will not force Himself on us. A lover, in its truest sense, could never force themselves on their beloved. We must accept the love given to us.
God is going to use His beauty on each one of us in the way we were created. I love to dig my hands into the dirt and watch God’s artistry in my gardens. I am drawn into amazing scenes whether mountainous or an ocean. I am also drawn in by the small things. A blooming tulip can stop me in my tracks. I will stand and admire it for quite some time. God knows that I have a deep understanding and love of His creation.
I was watching a movie with my daughter last week. It is the new Disney movie Big Hero 6, which I enjoyed. There is a scene where the robot, Baymax, has just been fitted with his military grade suit. Hiro, the teenage boy who outfitted him, is showing off his new tech when a butterfly lands on Baymax. Baymax then proceeds to walk off following the butterfly. I saw that and laughed because that is me. I can be ready to go and focused on a task at hand, but then, some beautiful thing will stop me and I will follow it. That is because that beauty is revealing an aspect of God to me and it is more important for me to investigate and hold onto that gift.
God is using beauty to woo you. Are you paying attention? One of the ways we can evangelize is just by pointing out the the beauty around us. Reason can at least get us that far and God infuses us with supernatural Faith to help us to get to Him. The next time you are overwhelmed, stop and look around. How is God trying to speak to you? Listen and watch your children, spouse, or friends. Whether you live in a city, the country, or in-between, God is using secondary causes to show us His love. Today, take a moment in this “waiting room of the world” to find some beauty and let God woo you.
Swimming the Depths 