The Heavens declare the glory of God ...

I shot this photo the other night at sunset in our backyard. The skies were so breathtaking and the light made the whole world look pinkish-orange.

It's hard to see here, because no photograph really captures reality, but this is pretty good. It was gorgeous. It also reminded me of something I read about the presence of God -- that you can have as much of it as you can stand as long as you don't try to hold onto it. I think that came from a book about prayer by Fr. Thomas Keating:

Nothing is more delightful than the divine presence. For that very reason we want to carve out a piece of it and hide it in the closet for safekeeping. But that is like trying to grasp a handful of air. As soon as your fingers close over it, it is gone. The presence of God does not respond to greed. It has a different dynamism. It is totally available, but on condition that we freely accept it and do not try to possess it. (Thomas Keating, OCSO Finding Grace at the Center. St. Bede's Publications. Petersham, MA. 1985).

I often find things happen like that. In God's Providence, we are given little "I love you" gifts, some of which -- most of which -- we do not recognize as coming from Him. But He gives them all the same. But sometimes they are very temporary. He wants to express His love to us in that moment, but we cannot hold on to it. He has something new to show us, something deeper, something more. And reflection on these things is as Fr. Keating says a photograph of reality rather than the reality itself.

For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies,
Lord of all,
To Thee we raise
This our hymn
of grateful praise.