This weekend, I realized that I have reached my late twenties, that I’ve been in my late twenties for at least the last year- WHAT? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the late twenties, but I’m almost certain that I just turned 22. Though I am still young, I am aging. Every day. But there is beauty in the contrast of young and old.
Lately, I’ve been drawn to contrasts. The photos I most enjoy taking have more shadows. Maybe it’s because I just celebrated the accomplishment of being on this earth for an additional year. I was listening to a podcast, recently, about the beauty of silence and listening to silence. Oddly enough, it was in this podcast that I heard something about light. That we only know light by what it falls upon. Indeed, we wouldn’t know light unless it “fell” upon something in our scope of view. I’ve always thought about light as more of an active force- revealing, illuminating- but the phrasing continues to stick in my mind. Hmm. . .something to think about.
Back to contrasts. . .let’s talk about flowers. Bouquets, like the lovely bouquet my mom gave me for my birthday, are arrangements of contrast: vibrance and decay. We enjoy flowers for their beauty- their fragrance, their color, their form- but in a bouquet, the flowers are already fading in the qualities we enjoy so much. Their enjoyment, even with attentive care, is short-lived- but still we enjoy them. There is a luxury to enjoying something that’s only here for a short amount of time. Like rainbows, shooting stars, and falling snowflakes. Like each day. Like moments. Like birthdays.
This year, I intend to smell the flowers and enjoy the vibrance they exude, even as they fade. Celebrate the 28 years of love, laughter, and tears that I’ve experienced so far in this ever-changing adventure of life and look forward to the future.
Here is my birthday blessing to you all:
May we enjoy the brief spectrums of light we witness through rainbows, breathe in the ephemeral scent of flowers (and even freshly cut grass), and marvel at the intricate angles of snowflakes. Let us be thankful for the passing beauty we glimpse throughout our journeys and let us be thankful for the creativity of our Creator, God, and the Beauty of His eternal and lasting Love for us.
Amen.
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