Tuesday, February 3, 2009

I'm Seeing... Noticing...

The sun shone brightly that whole Sunday afternoon, so

bundled up against cold wind, camera in hand, I headed out unto the prairie to see what I could see...


...to find beauty in nature and to praise God in the beauty.

As I walked... and looked... and listened, I kept sensing His Word from within,

"The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands" Ps. 19:1

From the icy patches of frozen crystals hovering upon golden strands...

...to the skies of blue where the winds stretch clouds across the expanse like lengths of white cotton candy.

I see.

When I close my eyes and face the wind,
ice cold against rosy cheeks,
and I lift my head to catch rays of light...

I feel...

He is here... the whole earth is filled with his glory.

Wandering over drifts of snow, hardened into icy mounds six ... even 8 feet, at times... above the ground, I am amazed and in awe of the way the wind has sculpted these flakes into different waves of beauty white.

I stop often and gaze far out into the open...

across the fields to the horizon, marveling

at the freedom these wide spaces allow me to feel...


... then down at my feet where goose down feather is captured amongst the tangle of matted grass.

I peer close, upon my knees, to see in detail the soft white... the movement

as it struggles to escape.


I freeze the moment within my lens, then pick it up and let it fly on wings of wind

for seconds in time before it drifts again to ground below.

That little burst of flight causes my breath to catch...

so much like I feel right now.

Outside, alone...

in the silence, wind and sunlight.




I love this...

...this seeing which adds so much depth to my days.

I'm seeing things along this walk that I have passed many times...

but for the first time I am noticing.






Two perfect rows of trees.

The round of barbed wire, forgotten under grasses grown tall.

A weathered barn, framed by branches stark against the winter sky.

The rusted red chipped paint of bygone days.

And I thank my God for this opportunity to open my eyes and take in the wonder that surrounds in simple every day things.

I need not go far... to places unknown, for he has provided in every place, in every adult and child, in every sense...

beauty.


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Related posts:

Laure's "The 9 o'clock evening hour"
L.L. Barkat "writer must see"

12 comments:

  1. Beautiful my friend! May we never forget to find the beauty around us...His beauty. It is in everything we see & do. Thank you for the reminder!

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  2. Katrina,
    Simply beautiful!
    Enjoy the photographs of your wide open prairies.
    Heavenly,
    Deanna from the Kansas Flinthills

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  3. katrina ... my breath caught too. *smile*

    "come to the window ...

    look there ...

    Heaven!"

    i dare say, Deanna got it so right!!

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  4. How beautiful!! Thanks for taking the time to show the beauty that surrounds you! You and Prairie Chick have opened my eyes to this beauty, a beauty that has always been there and always will be there. But to see it we must open our eyes to the profound beauty of the simple things in life. Have a wonderful day dear friend. Leanne

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  5. To slow down and see this much beauty in simple, everyday life, is a gift of God, the holiness of the day.

    Bobbie-Jo

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  6. This is so beautiful....your words, your amazing photos, and your heart!

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  7. SO lovely! What beautiful pictures... :)

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  8. Thank you for this beautiful gift! I took a book out of the library the other day... photos of the prairie. I never knew. How exquisite it is. And I consider how that lonely beauty frames a person, shapes. Did you grow up on prairie?

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  9. L.L. ...

    Thank you for stopping by! No, I didn't grow up on the prairie... I grew up in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, completely surrounded by mountains! I guess that's why I appreciate the open land so much... I only moved here 5 years ago and love it. :o)

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  10. You have such a beautiful way with words. And your photos remind me so much of why I love where we live. God's hand sure paints beautiful pictures around here! Thanks for capturing them to share :)

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  11. these are just stunning! wonderful post.

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I appreciate your thoughts and read each and every one... thank you!