Pavilioned in Splendor
I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works. Psalm 145:5
The best definitions that I could string together for this story title is covered in magnificent beauty. We have been given so much beauty in nature and yet so often we miss it in our business. We don’t have time to wait for it. Lori Stanley Roeleveld shares a special story in All God’s Creatures.
*****
There is a local artists’ community near my home where craftspeople, sculptors, painters, and artisans show their wares. Between the rustic buildings are wild and glorious gardens designed to attract butterflies, birds and visitors in need of rest. The property also boasts numerous animals—including llamas, chickens, donkeys and koi—to encourage families to visit and interact. The animals have the lion’s share of the back property—a vast pasture to wander—but a fence keeps them safe from overly curious visitors, and each type of animal has its designated resting, watering, and feeding place.
One day, in need of a walk surrounded by nature and beauty, I wandered the grounds, where I noticed a small crowd by a newly erected enclosure. When I arrived near the crowd, I was disappointed to see a small flock of peahens. I’d seen others wandering elsewhere on the property and knew they feast on ticks, so they’re useful, but hardly crowd worthy. “Why is everyone gathered?” I asked an elderly gentleman. He put a finger to his lips and whispered, “Wait for it.”
Moments later, a peacock emerged from the shelter into the sun, and all at once, he unfurled his magnificent, glorious, enormous fantail. We stood silently, drinking in the glory of this bird with his colors, patterns, and swirls. His tail was like an astounding intricate, artful fan covered with watching eyes. I was breathless, and the beauty of it remains imprinted in my memory.
Our God, too, is magnificent, beautiful, and awesome in majesty. Biblical writers describe being humbled and speechless at visions of God on His throne or in His glory. I’m not sure I could have imagined it until that glimpse of glorious majesty when the peacock unfurled his tail. Perhaps God created him to give us a foreshadowing of the breathtaking unimaginable beauty that awaits us when we arrive at heaven’s gates.
O worship the King all-glorious above, O gratefully sing his power and his love; our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days, pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise. —Robert Grant
Heavenly Father, help us never to take for granted the beauty with which You have surrounded us. AMEN.