My Camera Could Not Capture It...

Your camera wouldn't have been able to capture it either. I was trudging home from the hell that is my job, and I crossed a bridge over the DesPlaines River. I've been going over that bridges, either walking or driving, several times a week since I was four. Big deal. The bridge by the dam. I'd been over it thousands of times before. Once in a while, I would stop and look, pretending that I saw how beautiful it was. I always wanted to see the beauty of the world, but my eyes were blind, despite the fact that I have 20/20 vision. I would try and fool myself into thinking that I understood the beauty of the earth, but I never could. To me, the river was just a bunch of water, flowing it's course. But not today. Today the clouds above the river were colored pink and were in a magnificent design. Right above them was a fingernail moon, and below them was a neverending line of green trees. The river was flowing gently down the damn, and the fishermen were enjoying each other's company. It was the most beautiful sight I have ever been blessed to witness. I could not focus on the whole scene at one time. I wanted to take in the whole view at once, but I would have had to step out onto the bridge and risk getting hit by the oncoming traffic. "I wish I had my camera!" I thought. But my digital purple polaroid camera would not have been able to capture it the way I remembered it anyway. I continued walking, past the houses on the other side of town, and saw a house that had just been built. "How beautiful," I thought. There were flowers hanging outside of the second story window and it looked perfectly lovely. I looked at the whole house. I realized that a few weeks ago, I would never have been able to appreciate the beauty of that style of house. (Forgive me, I do not know what kind of house it was: I am terrible at classifying cars and houses, but I believe it was a bungalow. I love the word bungalow. It makes me feel like bouncing.) I realized then that somehow, I was viewing the world through different eyes, without even trying. I continued walking, and at the end of the block was the Presbyterian Church. It had stained glass windows and big wooden doors. The church office was an arts and crafts building. It reminded me of the first scene in Beauty and the Beast, when Belle is walking through the village. Again, I wished I had my camera. I had seen this building, too, since I was four and had never realized it's beautiful architecture or the extensive grounds. I began walking again and saw the park across the street from the library. (Our library, by the way, is absolutely gorgeous, and I knew that before I had this new way of seeing the world. It is made out of stone and has a cozy fireplace and reading rooms and is just the most comfortable place in the world!) The park, with its tall trees looked so silently pulchritudinous that I wished I had my camera yet again. And I realized. I did indeed have my camera with me! I was so mad at myself for not realizing that it was in my bag before, but I wasn't about to walk back because my feet were killing me after being on them for hours. I tried to take a picture, but it was turning out way too dark on my camera. The camera just could not capture the moment.

Today I saw the most beautiful sights that I have ever appreciated. I give credit to God for helping me see the beauty of nature.

xoxograce