day eleven: i am thankful for...

beauty in nature.

one of my favorite things to do when i was a teenager was to drive up the local canyon, just to look at the beauty around me. the trees, the huge waterfalls, the river, the flowers, the rocks. the bright blue sky where it meets the snow-topped mountains. the sun beating down, or the snow drifting to the earth, or the rain pooling in the grass. i love to walk the trails, smelling the pine and reveling in the beauty of nature, listening to the birds chirp, watching the squirrels run up a tree.

i love flowers, all flowers. my favorite flowers are spring flowers: daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, lilacs. bright yellows, pinks, purples, reds...perfection in something that begins as a tiny seed and blossoms into beauty. seeing the first tiny green shoots coming up out of the frozen ground is a moment of pure joy--winter is ending, spring is beginning, and the world is waking up all over again. the snow is melting, going from a white, winter wonderland to the joy of spring. spring melts into summer, with bright days, camping and hiking in the woods, hearing the crunch of your feet on pine needles, looking up into the branches above. summer gives way to my favorite time of year, fall. the leaves change color with the cooling temperatures and the world looks as if it is on fire. reds, yellows, oranges, flames on the side of the mountain, piles of leaves in the front yard, floating through the air.....

when i look at the world around me, especially the parts untouched by man, i feel joy. i feel God. i am surrounded by His work, and it amazes me. how blessed we all are to live in such a beautiful world, with oceans and deserts, mountains and prairies, sunsets and storms, all holding their own form of beauty for us to enjoy.

i am so thankful for the beauty of the earth. i am thankful for my ability to see it, to experience it, to immerse myself in nature.