Beauty

Last Sunday I delivered the sermon at my church. I’ve done some part-time preaching over the past couple years, and both the congregation and I have really enjoyed the experience. This time I talked about my pilgrimage to the Six Corners and the Bible verses that had inspired me both during and in between my journeys.

I closed my sermon with a favorite passage from Psalm 139:9-10 “If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea. Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” My journey has taken me to the uttermost parts of both land and sea, and jet lag has often roused me to the greet the morning, as it did the other day upon my return from LA.

But in this case I didn’t try to go back to bed, but instead took a drive along the Mystic River near my house. In many seasons and times of day the river looks unremarkable, and familiarity dulls the senses. But on this morning, sharply cooler than the day before, icy mist clenched the warmer waters. It pulled me in, and pulled me over.

I do of course still advocate seeking out places known for their beauty. For Veteran’s Day, which she had off from school, my younger daughter and I watched the sunrise from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park, my first time there since June.

But beauty requires determination as much as destination. And my advice to you is: whenever you see it, pull over and savor it. Because moments melt as sure as mists. So don’t just seize the day, seize the dawn.