This week’s red “strawberry moon”—made luminous not only by rare atmospheric conditions but also wildfire smoke—got me thinking about the strange, holy paradox of beauty amid collapse. Can we still marvel at beauty even when it is borne of crisis? And what happens to us if we can’t?
I wonder if one of the messages behind the beauty resulting from our catastrophe is that God turns our brokenness eternally into beauty. His mercy is infinite, and no matter how ruinous our failures, He can and does continually renew both us and His creation.
Do you ever wonder when we face death, or close to the end, that when all the curtains are pulled away, that we see things as they truly are and that we see what life really is but the love of God? That no matter where we end up, we are confronted with the Love of God, for some as beautiful and for some as hell?
Do you think as the prophets of old would bring revelation of God, that when as Christians, we give witness of love through the beauty of nature, the innocence of children, through removing the unneeded things from our lives that we become witness to the love of God?
Are we able to align our hearts and emotions to be in tuned with the heart of God by the Gift of the Holy Spirit. That as we live our lives now, we have begun to experience Paradise within?
Thank you for sharing this post, it is one to come back to reflect on especially in hard times.
I love this. You are such a talented writer. Some time ago I saw that you had « Reading Genesis » on your list. Did you get to it yet? It’s a kind of extended meditation on this theme of the mess of human history God’s faithfulness through it all. I highly recommend !
Hi Liesl! Yes, I did start reading it. I have to admit, I couldn't get into it. 😬 I really wanted to, BC the writing itself was really good. What I struggled with was, like, a lack of context. Like, no intro or anything in which she explained what the overall purpose was or where she was coming from in a work that is so different from her fiction, which is what I and probably most other readers are most familiar with. Without that I felt kind of lost, like where is this going. Idk. I was reading an ebook version and I almost wondered if the hardcopy had an Introduction that somehow got omitted in the ebook? Because it felt that jarringly disorienting (to me anyway). Am I crazy? I wish I could have gotten into it BC I do love her work generally.
Sorry--my response yesterday to your comment was not very kind. Sarcasm is how I handle positive praise of my work sometimes. Thank you for your comment!
Wonderful, insightful post. Did you write the poem at the beginning? It is brilliant.
I did, and thank you. ♥️🙏
Amen & amen.
What courage it takes to allow beauty to shape us.
Nicole, yours is my favorite Substack.
Well now I'm crying! You're very kind
I wonder if one of the messages behind the beauty resulting from our catastrophe is that God turns our brokenness eternally into beauty. His mercy is infinite, and no matter how ruinous our failures, He can and does continually renew both us and His creation.
Do you ever wonder when we face death, or close to the end, that when all the curtains are pulled away, that we see things as they truly are and that we see what life really is but the love of God? That no matter where we end up, we are confronted with the Love of God, for some as beautiful and for some as hell?
Do you think as the prophets of old would bring revelation of God, that when as Christians, we give witness of love through the beauty of nature, the innocence of children, through removing the unneeded things from our lives that we become witness to the love of God?
Are we able to align our hearts and emotions to be in tuned with the heart of God by the Gift of the Holy Spirit. That as we live our lives now, we have begun to experience Paradise within?
Thank you for sharing this post, it is one to come back to reflect on especially in hard times.
Psalm 139:8
“
If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
Ohhh my heart🤍🤍🤍
beautiful and what I needed at this moment
I love this. You are such a talented writer. Some time ago I saw that you had « Reading Genesis » on your list. Did you get to it yet? It’s a kind of extended meditation on this theme of the mess of human history God’s faithfulness through it all. I highly recommend !
Hi Liesl! Yes, I did start reading it. I have to admit, I couldn't get into it. 😬 I really wanted to, BC the writing itself was really good. What I struggled with was, like, a lack of context. Like, no intro or anything in which she explained what the overall purpose was or where she was coming from in a work that is so different from her fiction, which is what I and probably most other readers are most familiar with. Without that I felt kind of lost, like where is this going. Idk. I was reading an ebook version and I almost wondered if the hardcopy had an Introduction that somehow got omitted in the ebook? Because it felt that jarringly disorienting (to me anyway). Am I crazy? I wish I could have gotten into it BC I do love her work generally.
And, now. I am weeping.
Sorry--my response yesterday to your comment was not very kind. Sarcasm is how I handle positive praise of my work sometimes. Thank you for your comment!
Oh, my. I am the same way. I took no umbrage from it.
If i can make one person cry today then it was worth getting out of bed 😂🫶