His Art

It wasn’t a UFO, but I did see something really strange dropping out of the sky last Friday. I’m not sure exactly what is was, but I have an idea. First though, let me give you some of the back story.

This crazy Coronavirus is forcing most of us to stay home, which is really tough. Fortunately for my wife, she took up painting last year so that’s something she can do at home and it’s obvious to me she has a real gift. Even her first few attempts at painting small vignettes of flowers were really vibrant and seemed to jump right off the canvass. But art isn’t easy. One of the first things she learned from her instructor is that you aren’t given 15 tubes of different colors of paint to work with. Instead, you’re supposed to use just a few tubes of the prime colors and creatively mix them together to produce whatever colors your mind dreams up. That seems really hard to me and I know I can’t do that. So I’m glad there are people in this world who do have the ability to bring color to a canvass and brighten our world inside our homes during those times when we can’t go outside.

So here’s what happened last Friday. I left the house before sunrise to go do a light pole inspection. Starting super early when no one is around makes it easier for me to avoid people and maintain social distancing. But when I arrived at the site and stepped out of my truck, I noticed what looked like a giant fireball of color falling out of the sky. It appeared to be a small cloud, but it was absolutely exploding with brilliant colors while falling rapidly down to earth. I grabbed my phone and tried to snap a photo, but it was fading fast, so I could only capture the last few moments… and then poof! It was gone!

And that got me thinking… First off, what kind of cloud falls down to earth? I’ve never seen that before! So maybe it wasn’t a cloud. Maybe it was just a piece of the canvass that our Master Creator was using to bring more color to our lives at a time when we can really use it!

The sky, a perfect empty canvas, offers clouds nonetheless. 

They shift and drift and beg interpretation… such is the nature of God and his art.

~ Jeb Dickerson

Silver Lining

One of the first things I do almost every single morning is to go out to the family room and look outside at the beautiful ocean view. I usually take a few minutes to sit down and enjoy the view and reflect upon all that I have to be thankful for, but this morning was different… for several reasons.

Looking out upon the sand and the surf, I did not see something beautiful. What I saw was an ocean engulfed with ugly red tide plankton. The waves were not breaking with their usual transparent turquoise color cresting with brilliant white caps. Instead the waves were brown and muddy and dirty. Even the sand was hideous, covered with rocks and debris, painted a nasty dark color by the atrocious red tide residue.  

Funny thing is the ugliness of the red tide transforms itself into something spectacularly beautiful at night. The plankton in the water causes a chemical reaction when there is movement that results in brilliant blue bio-luminescence, which is basically the emission of light by a living organism. The last few nights I’ve been able to watch the waves exploding in bright silver blue light as they race up and down the beach. I have never seen anything like it before and being 65, I may never see it again. Ugly as sin during the day, beautiful as can be at night. Kind of ironic because it’s the opposite of normal. Normally the ocean is gorgeous during the day and invisible at night.

And that got me thinking… Could there be a silver lining to this Coronavirus that is creating so much pain and suffering for so many people? Can any good come out of such an ugly worldwide pandemic? Honestly, I just don’t know. But what I do know, is that I am compelled to look for the good. I was born a positive person, blessed by God in many ways, so I feel an obligation to my family and friends to foster hope and provide inspiration in times of trouble. So here are some “positives” that I’ve noticed so far.

Parents -      Moms and Dads working from home means more time with Mom and Dad.
                      And everyone is getting more creative than ever with cooking.
Children -    Kids are learning online and getting to stay in their pajamas all day.
Friends -      Hugs are pretty darn special and won’t be taken for granted in the future.
Strangers -  When I go outside, I wear a mask. And when I pass by someone else with a mask on, I smile and wave. And I can't see it, but I feel like they are smiling back at me, because more than ever... we need each other... and now we are finally realizing it.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community 

and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. 

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live.

~ George Bernard Shaw