Putting a Frame Around Life

The other day I road my bicycle to a nearby park.  As I wandered around surveying the various shades of green that where on display, I ducked under this group of trees for a bit of shade from the sun.  When I glanced up, the above photo is what I saw.  

The Psalmist proclaims ~ "I lift mine eyes to the hills".

Now in the place I call home there are not that many hills around me to lift mine eyes toward...but there are these trees.  

Towering above my head.

There are so many fascinating truths about trees.  Consider that what you see above your head is only part of the vast root system growing unseen beneath your feet in the soil.  Consider that the roots usually extend at least as wide as the branches.  Consider that trees communicate to each other...not only those close by but some distance away.

I lift mine eyes and it is not only what is seen...but what is unseen that invites me into the holy mystery of this day God has made.

This is the power of putting a frame around a moment.  It can help focus us in the vastness of life.  We can begin to explore the depth and dive deep, rather than skim the surface.  And when we begin to expand the frame to include more and more, we can continue such a prayer practice.   

But sometimes when you try to put a frame around something...this happens:

Not every frame is perfect.  I tried to capture this flower...only to have the wind whip right at the time I snapped the photo.  Sending the branch from the center to the fringe.

Yet...the flowers on the tree are still there.  

Not centered.

Not perfect.

But present...just off to the side...not exactly as I had planned.

This seems a lot like faith.

This seems a lot like life.

Where I believe the traces of God's grace are all around us...if we pause long enough to sense the ways the world is saturated with the sacred.

Blessings ~~