"Take a picture"... they said. "It'll last longer"... they said. I'm not always so sure about that.
Yesterday, as I was cutting grass, I noticed a swarm of yellow butterflies hovering around a patch of salmon-tinted spider lilies (also known as the hurricane lily because it usually blooms in late summer/early fall in response to heavy rainfall) in a corner section of our yard. I parked the lawn mower without turning off the engine, approached the busy-ness and beauty of this brightly colored pollination in action... and I took a picture. When I looked at the photo, it was nothing remarkable. So I tried again. And again... ehhh. I then decided to remove my ear muffs, turn off the mower, and just sit and watch for a while.
Sometimes, it's impossible to adequately capture the beauty that is happening around you. In fact, the more you try... the more of it you miss. Butterflies in action. Blooms that only occur under certain circumstances. Birds chirping. A cat meowing. A cow chewing grass... VERY LOUDLY, I might add. These were a few of the things happening around me in the moment I thought I could capture in a still-framed photo. But the only way to truly seize that moment was to sit... and settle... and just be silent. And the more I took in my surroundings, my heart began to sing some of the words to the first song I ever sang in church. How Great Thou Art.
Oh Lord, my God
When I, in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
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