Beautiful (but So Ugly)
Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. Psalm 34:5
Where I live outside of Pottstown, next to the house is a grove of pine trees. Every winter, the turkey vultures return home to spend the winter. I would not call them snow birds (no pun intended) but none the less, they always come here in ever-increasing numbers and hang out with us. This year alone, I counted 63 with my naked eye and I am sure there were a few more I could not see. They are very social and all of these 63+ are related somehow.
A friend of mine shared a story about riding back roads and finding a dead vulture in the road. Surrounding that bird were at least six or seven others nestled down beside it. They would not move. Who would think that birds could have that kind of faithful devotion?
They are not pretty birds! In fact, they are as “homely as a hedge fence” as my grandmother used to say. However, when they take flight in search of food, there is a majestic whoosh sound of power. Nope, not attractive at all but they do a nice job of cleaning up the countryside. They have an instinctual task that I do not ever want to do.
When we look at others, are we seeing all their beauty? In this day and age, it is likely that we judge by what we see and hear. It takes some serious effort to find the good. Mother Teresa once said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” So very true. Selah!
Splendor is all around us. Why can’t we see it? Are we just too busy to change our lens and look beyond the superficial? What we see might be a spectacular sight. What we cannot clearly see requires faith and trust in our Father. For example, I have several bird feeders that I cannot see from my writing table but I know that they are being cared for even though I cannot see them. I can imagine all kinds of feathered friends eating the seed I put out for them.
I do believe that we tend to miss so much in this world by judging. Yes, I am guilty! I still tend to judge a book by its cover. I don’t slow down enough to see the real deal and therefore, I miss out on lots of wonderful things. Seeing true beauty requires relationship. Maybe that is what I’ll work on this year. In the meantime, I’ll keep watching, talking and singing to my (beautiful but so ugly) turkey vultures.
Father God, thank You for my eyesight. I ask that You would improve my vision. AMEN.