Sunday, March 4, 2012

Wonder of Wonders! Miracle of Miracles!

"Out of a worthless lump of clay, God has made a man today." --Fiddler on the Roof

When I finally rolled out of bed yesterday, I wasn't exactly optimistic about my day. I knew that most of it would be spent alone, and alone is one of my least favorite ways to spend a Saturday. So, I put my face on and got my things together, went back and forth from the door to my room picking up my forgotten keys, then my phone, then my gloves. I called my mom on my way out--she was just getting lunch, so I let her go and deposited a check. Then I headed to JiffyLube to get the oil changed in my car. I called my sister-in-law on the way and chatted with the kids because she was taking a nap. I got my car checked in and called my sister while I waited. She was just getting lunch, so I let her go and watched "Sons of Guns" on the discovery channel for a very long fifteen minutes while the experts saw to my car.

By the time I left JiffyLube, it was 3:00, and I was starving. So I took a break from running errands to get lunch. I pulled out of Arby's wondering where I should go to eat--I didn't feel like going home just yet, but where can a person eat lunch alone without looking like a creeper? A park, of course! So I drove to a little park a couple blocks away from my apartment, ate my lunch, and then headed for the swing-set. There's something truly magical about swinging--the wind blowing softly against your skin, the sky coming up to greet you and then falling away gently, the creek of the chain as you go back and forth. It was just lovely!

Of course, after all of that, who would want to go run more errands? No, I decided to have myself an adventure. I drove up to campus and headed for the Museum of Art. I spent the rest of the afternoon just wandering aimlessly through the museum and soaking in the beauty of the art. It's truly amazing what people can create by scratching on a copper plate, stroking canvas with a brush, shaping and molding clay, or carving into stone. I was particularly impressed with the display on the main floor, entitled, "Beauty and Belief". It was a massive collection of Islamic art in all different mediums, and it was beautiful to see the marriage of faith and talent in each piece. It is truly beautiful, the way passion--whether yours be art, music, sports, or science--can inspire faith and remind us of the things that matter most, encourage us to open our eyes, ears, minds, and hearts to the beauty that surrounds us and to the hand of the Lord in our lives.

I stayed there in the museum until the speakerphone announced that the museum was closing, and then slowly made my way out the door, holding onto that thought. It was quite fitting, really, that I would leave all of that beautiful and inspiring art only to be greeted by a breathtaking sunset. And since I was already in such a romantic (or should I say, 'Romantic') state of mind, what else was I to do but chase it? I got in my car and started driving. A few minutes later, I ended up sitting on a rock at the lake, watching the colors play across the water and listening to the ducks, and the geese flying overhead, and the lapping of the lake. And what had started out as a lonely, boring Saturday, miraculously became a pilgrimage to that place, where I saw one of God's masterpieces displayed before me.

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