CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON -- The Moral of the Story

“If you have never heard the mountains singing, or seen the trees of

the field clapping their hands, do not think because of that that they

don’t. Ask God to open your ears so you may hear it and your eyes so you

may see it, because though few men ever know it, they do, my friend, they

do.”

-- McCandlish Phillips

“Daddy, Daddy, look at the snow. It’s so, it’s so, it’s so prettiful,”

squealed a cute little girl all bundled up in a pink snowsuit.

I could barely see her round face peeking out underneath a fuzzy hat

and goggles that seemed two sizes too big. There was no mistaking the

ear-to-ear smile though, and if she hadn’t been so well secured to the

ground by her boots and skis, I think she would have been dancing.

Her voice and words were doing the dancing for her instead. I loved

her made up word, because clearly the words “pretty” and “beautiful”

didn’t do justice to the beauty that was gently falling on and around all

of us.

“You’re right. sweetheart. You are so right,” answered the proud papa

next to his little wonder. He obviously didn’t want to correct her

English, he just wanted to echo her excitement.

Then she stopped and stared at the sky with such rapt attention, I had

to stop and look up too. The longer I looked, the more I saw. The more I

saw, the more amazed I became at the delicate intricacies and endless

beauty everywhere I looked.

I was in the mountains two weeks ago on a ski trip, and though I’ve

been to the same place in the past, the beauty overwhelmed me more than

ever before. I think it was because of something that happened our first

night.

I was tired after a busy day and a big meal, but I couldn’t fall

asleep. I assumed it was the altitude. But after tossing and turning for

too long, I sensed God gently saying, “Cindy, it’s not the altitude, it’s

your attitude. We need to talk.”

I wrapped a warm blanket around me, walked out to the quiet living

room, stood at the window and stared out into the darkness.

The stars were brighter than neon, faithfully twinkling in all their

glory. They didn’t arrange themselves in letters, but after awhile I

sensed a message from God that said, “I’m in charge of all this and more,

Cindy. Don’t you think I can handle what’s on your mind?”

I sat down on the couch and told God what was in my heart. The light

from the fullness of the moon spilled into the dark room and God’s peace

started filling my heart. As the minutes melted away, so did my worries.

I walked silently back to bed and slept like a baby. The rest of the

week I enjoyed the intensity of the beauty around me. I’m back home now,

and though I’m not surrounded by majestic mountains, I am still

surrounded by God’s creative touches everywhere I look.

If we take the time to stop and look, we will see just howamazingly

“prettiful” God’s creation really is.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at o7

http//:[email protected] or through the mail at P.O. Box

6140-No. 505, Newport Beach, CA 92658.