I Know The Artist

I saw this caption the other day under a glorious photograph of a tree changing color in autumn. At first, it made me smile; then, it made me think. I don’t fangirl, nor do I get star-struck. People are people. I can appreciate someone’s art or talent, but I’ve never lost my mind over meeting someone famous beyond expressing my enjoyment of what they have created. But, when I read that caption, I felt it. I know the artist too, and that kind of sentence made sense to me for the first time.

Frustration

I wouldn’t have even seen it if I hadn’t been so frustrated that I decided to take my work out onto the roof. I sat in the semi-warmth of mid-autumn on my laptop perched on the roof over my kitchen. There was no clutter or mess, no noise, no cats walking across my keyboard or dog whining to get a snack. It was just peaceful. There was the sound of the wind in the leaves, the cars on the road below, and the tip-tapping of the keys. Still warm enough to make me sweat on the asphalt roof, I took off my sweatshirt and closed my eyes. The days are getting shorter now, more so since the time change, so there was only a limited time to catch the sun before it slipped behind the mountains across the river.

A Brush With Glory

Then The Artist took out His brushes and began to paint. The canvas morphed from one spectacular color to another from minute to minute. Finally, the breathtaking show forced my hand. Laying my laptop down beside me on the rooftop, I stood up slowly and walked to the edge to take in the panoramic view. No matter how many pictures I took, nothing could give each brilliant hue its due. It didn’t matter, though – I saw the original being painted before my very eyes.

Full

Texting my husband the moment I saw the show starting, I knew it would only be a matter of minutes before he climbed through the window out onto the roof himself. We stood together drinking it all in until the night sky had swallowed up the last warm rays of the sun, and the wind had picked up a chill. Then, reluctantly, we turned, gathered my things, and climbed back inside absolutely full to the brim wonder. How many times had he raced home from work so that we could stand on the back stoop watching the sunset together? It was our thing.

Masterpieces In Our Backyard

No matter how aggravating the day has been, when you can come home to your peace and see the spectacular beauty of the world show up in all its glory, it makes all the cares of the world drop away. I feel blessed to have a backstage pass to awe and wonder. The show never gets old as long as you take the time to appreciate what’s right in front of you.

Be blessed.

Psalm 91:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.