Wonders and more

Enjoying Northern Lights and God's creation, and reflecting on other holy moments of quiet, hidden beauty

Last night before I fell asleep, I decided to rise, get dressed, and head out to look at the Northern Lights instead of sleeping. My husband tiredly got his clothes on, too, reminding me that he had worked all day and hadn’t had a nap like I had!

We drove around country roads and we could see the glow in the sky above the tall fir trees but finding a safe place to pull over remained an elusive quest for the better part of an hour. As we looked north (we’re at the 45th parallel), we knew that the naked eye wouldn’t see the magnificence as clearly as the simple camera on our phones could capture.

I saw friends in the nearby rural town where we lived until last year posting spectacular pictures of the Aurora Borealis. And yet when we finally found a quiet street in a neighborhood of mansions overlooking a golf course where we could stop, the soft glow that we observed didn’t glow magnificently like those pictures others showed us. We knew that the phenomenon was taking place in our area, but we saw a fairly soft and even disappointing version of it on our cell phone picture.

I wonder sometimes if this symbolizes something more. We live in a world where people have the ability to share their glowing success and mountaintop experiences, and though I’m always happy for the victories of my friends, I wonder if we need to recognize that many of life’s blessings or significant views and turning points are found in the quiet moments.

I think of moments spent holding the hand of a parent soon to take his final breath on earth. What a holy moment.

I remember the Chinese sister who stopped by my apartment because God nudged her to look in on me though it was late at night. Her words of encouragement remain treasured gifts even years later when I remember sobbing alone just before she knocked gently on my door.

I think of the times we have the opportunity to love someone close to us when this loving business is downright difficult. Despite moments of exasperation, God somehow infuses us with genuine love and affection for those we share our lives with. When we persevere and ask God to love through us, and the days turn into years and we have built a secure, loving attachment with someone who is there for us when we come out of anesthesia after surgery.

When I fall again and blood is dripping down my face, and the tender skin on my nose and forehead is ripped from the collision with the concrete patio, then his strong arms lift me gently. He washes off the blood, dismayed that I fell again. He orders tempered drinking glasses a few months later because the glass I had in my hand is in shards next to me. When someone loves through the really tough times, and they keep on loving because they aren’t a quitter…that’s as spectacular as the Northern Lights.

We can’t always see God’s love reflected in the faces and actions of others, not with our naked eyes.

But I see the splendor in my mind’s eye as I pause and reflect this morning.

Glowing moments of breathtaking beauty.

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2 Corinthians 4:1-18 (Berean Study Bible)

The Light of the Gospel

1Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this ministry,a we do not lose heart. 2Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”b made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.c

Treasure in Jars of Clay
(Romans 6:1–14)

7Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

13And in keeping with what is written: “I believed, therefore I have spoken,”d we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak, 14knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesuse will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may overflow in thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond comparison. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.