Who is like you, O God — majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?
Exodus 15:11
Dear Friends,
God seems inclined to bless us with rain one day and sunshine the next, which is an apt existential metaphor, but in the natural world, it certainly ushers in a beautiful late spring. I am enjoying sidewalks of Katonah, marveling at the lush colors, and the way the season changes daily, ever so slowly, tantalizingly, with a little brush of green here, a little dab of pink or yellow there, as though God were painting each bud and blade one at a time. Meanwhile, the days run hot and then cold, just to remind you that nothing is certain, that neither winter nor summer and their excesses are far off. I feel like a little kid experiencing the world fresh, and perhaps I am. In my family, we love to quote my sister Liz at the age of four, coming down the steps on Christmas morning into a world of brilliant magic, and while my brother and I rush into the material abundance with squeals of gratification, Liz stands transfixed on the last step professing, “Wonder, wonder, wonder!” That’s what I want to whisper when I see the rhododendrons blossoming into purple. I hope I don’t lose that child-like wonder as the years go by. It would truly be a shame to take for granted such heavenly artistry, as though suggesting that God’s brush strokes were less important than all the silliness that seems to loom so important in our day-to-day lives. To quote Alice Walker in her appropriately named novel, “I think it [ticks] God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.” And why might it? Simply because God wishes for us lives of wonder and beauty, and works hard to create it for us.
I hope as the celestial canvas we call Spring is painted over by the bright brilliance of Summer that you keep noticing the gifts of God, not just in the scenery but in every facet of your lives. Notice the small colors of love and caring that you pass by, or that brush by you when you’re standing still. A gesture of thoughtfulness, the presence of a friend, a kind word from a stranger. These are the colors of purple that bloom in the fields of our lives in every glorious season. Notice. Be mindful; be grateful; be filled; be loved, beloved. And whisper, sing, shout, or pray your thanks: “Wonder, wonder, wonder!”
Love and light,
Martin
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