looking up.

like most nights, i took my dog out before i got ready for bed tonight.  and every night, as i walk from my door down my front steps to our yard, i find myself looking up at the shadowy branches of the tall, bare oaks in our front yard.

it's become almost my goodnight tradition with the Lord.  no matter the day i've had, looking up at the twilight twinkle against the deep sapphire sky, with a mess of intertwined silhouettes in the foreground brings me to a moment of tranquility as i am lost in the simple beauty of our Creator.

but tonight, i looked up and saw that it was merely light grey meshed behind the mess of barren outlines.  no stars could be seen.

do you see think that I am still beautiful?  asked the Lord.

you do know that the stars are still there, don't you?  they still shine, even when all you see is grey.  when what you see is plain, or even dreary, beauty is still present.  it may be covered in tarnish, but it is never absent.  I am always there for you, just like the stars.  I am faithful to complete the work I've begun.  I will not ever leave you.  look for me when the clouds abound and your day is drab.  cry out to Me and know that I honor your honest prayers of desperation. 


even in your hopelessness, you've come to the right place; you're still looking up.  it may not look like what it does on any given, beautiful night, but your eyes are still looking up to lock with mine.  


i think i hear the Lord say that He is pleased.  He knows I'm fatigued in the flesh and in the spirit.  He knows still that my eyes look towards the heavens, that my true peace is found in His beauty, and that that is revealed in the most menial of things like dying trees and dismal skies.