The Things We Can’t See

I didn’t see the northern lights a few weeks ago when they were visible in so many unusual parts of the world. My sister and her family did though – in Virginia. She sent the photos they took, with a note that when they first looked up at the sky, they couldn’t see the lights there. But when they held their cell phone cameras up, the remarkable streaks of color of the Northern Lights were visible right over their house.

I loved this reminder - that there is a world of things around us that we never see. Wonders of the world dancing over our heads in the dark, but just out of our sight. It usually takes more than a cell phone to see beyond our normal capabilities. To see the ultraviolet light that bees and butterflies see, guiding their flight to banquets of pollen and nectar. To see what some snakes see with infrared – that helps them find dinner even with their eyes closed. Just how many things are in plain sight for other creatures, but not for us? I wonder about all those other things around us that we don’t even know to look for. Or the things we sense near us sometimes, even though we don’t see anything.

What is it, I wonder,

That our dogs see, when we are sad?

That a newborn sees, when they stare upward?

That a loved one sees, when they are passing from this world?

That God sees, when he is right there next to us, but we don’t realize it?

Holy one – thank you for all the wonders of this world and for the way we continue to learn, to see and understand the wonders you have made for us. Amen

Diana is a founding member of Peace, and probably thinks about stuff like this too much!