Fragile Beauty

Walking along a wooded stream I came across this limb hanging above the waterfall. The ice had collected on the branches and formed the most intricate pattern of ice. As the water would spray up onto the branch another bead of water would adhere to the ice and it would drip down the form until it too became a part of the whole.

The brisk chill in the air kept the ice from melting and allowed the beautiful image to grow and take on its unique shape. Even the warmth of the infant spring sun was not warm enough to keep the water from freezing. It was breathtaking. And in a brief moment - with the coming of spring - the fragile beauty will be gone.

I spent a great deal of time this Easter weekend thinking about the fragile nature of life. Our lives are like this fragile image. We live for such a brief time and are gone. We live as a part of the whole of humanity until the time of our passing. And yet, each individual life is uniquely different from the rest.

How great is our God. He knew that we need to be a part of a whole. Yet, He created us as individuals, each with our own unique aspects. He provided the community where we can thrive and grow and yet He knows that even while we are a part of it - we are individuals.

As the ice form melts it melts away one droplet at a time. Each individual part leaving the whole. Each individual part standing on its own. But God knows the makeup, the frame, of each one. How great is His design. He made us to be individuals who long to be a part of something greater than ourselves. He wants us to be a part of Him. He wants us to adhere to Him and to never melt away. The conditions are always right. We can stay close to Him and to become one with our Father. Our identity can be joined to His. The fragile beauty of God's love for us pulls us closer to the designer's heart.