Moments of Grace

Despite the rather hardened materialism of the modern world, it can hardly be doubted except by those who have themselves been hardened by the world in which we live that human beings are spiritual creatures. I have been reflecting on beauty because at another place, the C.S. Lewis Yahoo site SpareOom, the discussion recently has been about spiritual events such as the experience reported by J.B. Phillips of being visited by C.S. Lewis after Lewis's death in 1963. That would be a rather obvious spiritual experience. But we are all surrounded by beauty and the breaking through of beauty into our awareness can transport us in a moment to a spiritual place.

I remember one morning going out in the backyard to check my hydroponics systems and finding the morning dew gathered like pearls at the points of each cucumber leaf sparkling in the early morning light and I just dwelled there in a brief magical morning looking at that little wonder.

We are spiritual creatures not merely material ones and that is what
Lewis tries to get across in his battle with Naturalism played out in
Miracles. It always seems strange to me that some people think that
it is all an illusion and I always wonder if those people experience
the world in the same way I do?

Each morning the world looks like a miracle to me. It is filled with
beauty at every moment if you just attend to it. I mentioned the
pearl dew drops there are also the little roses that Jessica planted
out in the front yard. One wintery morning, I could probably actually
pinpoint the day if I could find the pictures that I took since the
camera time stamps everything. I went out the front door and was
arrested in a magical moment by the roses. We had had an early
morning dusting with snow or frost or something and there they were
each bloom slightly frosted. I was so stunned by it that instead of
going on to work I went into the house and got my camera and took
pictures of the frosted roses.

Each day is like that, whether it is just a rock with a particular sheen or the sun casting rays out through the clouds or a wisp of hair that blows down across the forehead of one you love that she blows out of the way with a quick breath ... a moment of beauty snatched out of time.