I Stand All Amazed - Awe -

At church this past Sunday we sang a hymn, "I Stand All Amazed." And then as we moved from one church congregation to another, the organist was playing, "For the Beauty of the Earth."

This time of the year I vacillate between soaking in the last drops of the summer sun and autumn leaves and making sure I've prepared myself and my home for winter. Do I work or do I play? The grasshopper or the ant? This year I've chosen to relish every moment of the outdoors that I possibly can.

Goodness life is beautiful. And I am amazed at the stunning'ness surrounding me - I am in awe at all that I have been blessed with. And I do not take it for-granted.

When was the last time you felt a sense of wonder, awe in your life? Have you taken the time to absorb not only the beauty but the emotions associated with this? I can think of several moments of amazement through my life, so powerful I remember them clearly:

Visiting the rolling hills of Virginia and praying that I would some day be able to live in the south.
Seeing the "Village" house, in Alabama, for the first time and knowing this was home.
Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway in autumn.
Entering Provo Canyon and promising myself I would see Utah County through the eyes of a tourist.
Driving from Georgia into North Carolina, cresting the hill, and seeing "as far as the eyes could see."
Watching Tempest's birth.
Holding each of my new grand-babies.
Driving in to Ketchum Idaho.
Hiking to the Lily Pond at Redfish Lake.
Looking east up Henry's Fork, from Macks Inn.
Witnessing my father's death.
Walking through Chihuly Gardens in Seattle.

And I could elaborate, in great detail, about each of these events and the significance they played in my life at that moment and since. And these are just a few.

These moments caught me off-guard, which makes them even more stunning. Pretty interesting that the sound I make when struck by beauty is an inhaling and an exhaling of aaah. When I thought there was no beauty, no generosity, no kindness, no place for me in this world, I remembered these moments, and counted them, and re-experienced them. They have kept me alive in those darkest loneliest moments, yet this sense of awe continues to stun me -

Awe, amazement, wonder, beauty, blessed - God's tender hand - call it what you may - I see an artist's hand in creating these moments, so at just the right time, I am able to be a witness to the glory.