Sometimes you just need something pretty...something to make you stop. Look. And appreciate it for all it is.
As I was driving Isaac to the doctor Friday for the 3rd time in a week, I was exhausted and ungrateful. Whiney. Crabby. And just plain ol' ugly.
On the way there, through one of the less-fortunate areas of Bolivar, I was struck by the brilliance of colors in the leaves of the trees. Something we in the mid-west see every year, I know, I know.
Everyone takes pictures...talks about how great the changing of seasons are...blah blah blah.
(Like I said, I was just plain ol' ugly that day.)
But in that moment, I stopped. And I looked at the trees that continued to breathe and live and prosper in their unsightly environment. And I appreciated their beauty. And their patience. And their endurance.
Because sometimes you just need something pretty. Something that's not purchased or manufactured. Something that's not over-processed or over-done. Just something pretty. That we didn't do. That we didn't create out of selfishness or ego or vanity.
I'm thankful for the pretty that this world had nothing to do with.
