Day 31: Beauty in a broken world

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Year in and year out, the church calendar marks the passage of time. For many of us, we’re approaching a second Easter when we will not gather in our sanctuaries. And I think that’s why it’s especially important this year to hold on to traditions at home. For me that includes Easter decorations.

Easter eggs, one with lilies and one with dogwoods, painted by a friend who’s a cameo artist

Several Christmases ago, I shared photos of a Christmas jar with the star, the wise men, and the little town of Bethlehem. After my friend who painted the jar saw the post, she invited me to her house and asked me to pick out Easter eggs for my husband and me. I cherish these Easter eggs and delight in displaying them each year.

The egg with the lilies has a verse painted on the back: Luke 12:27.

Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither labor nor spin; but I tell
you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

Consider the lilies
Thanks to all of you who followed along with this month’s blog series and shared your images of beauty with me. I hope that even as the series draws to a close, you’ll continue to consider the lilies and all the other beauty in our broken world.

If you see something beautiful, I hope you’ll share it on Instagram (or your favorite social media platform) and tag it with #beautyinabrokenworld.

Day 30: Beauty in a broken world

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Home can mean many different places to us throughout our lives. My parents still live in the home where I grew up, and my mother’s garden in spring always feels like home to me. Mom wanted me to take a picture of her splendid tulip magnolia last week during a visit, and I got there just in time.

Tulip magnolia blooms

The night I took these, a storm came through and blew most of the petals off the tree. I was grateful to have captured the blooms before they disappeared.

Are there gardens other than your own that make you feel like you’re home?

Join me in the hunt for beauty?
Where do you see beauty in a broken world? There’s still time to add your own images during what’s left in the 31-day journey. Please feel free to comment below with your Instagram handle, and tag your Insta posts with #beautyinabrokenworld. You’ll find me there @pixofhope.

Day 29: Beauty in a broken world

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When I was learning to paint watercolors in high school, the sky often spoke to me, clouds begging to be represented in a wash of grays and blues. Out for a walk a few evenings back, I saw this sky and wondered if some artist somewhere was watching the same pattern in the clouds and thinking, “I’ve got to paint this sky.”

An island of evergreens touches a ripple of water and a ripple of clouds.

Do quieter sunsets speak to you? Or do you only listen when the sunsets are bold and loud with their colors?

Join me in the hunt for beauty?
Where do you see beauty in a broken world? There’s still time to add your own images during what’s left in the 31-day journey. Please feel free to comment below with your Instagram handle, and tag your Insta posts with #beautyinabrokenworld. You’ll find me there @pixofhope.

Day 28: Beauty in a broken world

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How do we find ourselves at Palm Sunday again? Western Christians celebrate it today, and I wanted to give a nod in today’s photo to what is always a hard week for me. I love Easter, but Palm Sunday always leaves me a bit sad. Sure, there’s Jesus’ triumphal entry riding on the donkey with crowds waving palms and shouting His praises. But the days between Palm Sunday and Easter are not jubilant. The crowd turns. One of the men closest to Jesus betrays him. Jesus ends up on a cross, dead. It’s a comfort, in a terrible week like that, to have the Easter message to hold on to.

Resurgam: I will rise again.

A sign above a door at Mission San Juan Capistrano

As I’ve done each Sunday in this month-long series, I’ve stepped back into the past by wandering through old trip photos. I took more traditionally beautiful pictures during my visit to Mission San Juan Capistrano several years ago. But this photo’s message is the most beautiful I could choose for today and for the week ahead.

Join me in the hunt for beauty?
Where do you see beauty in a broken world? Want to add your own images during what’s left in the 31-day journey? If so, feel free to comment below with your Instagram handle, and tag your Insta posts with #beautyinabrokenworld. You’ll find me there @pixofhope.

Day 27: Beauty in a broken world

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You may have noticed a lack of songbirds in my posts this month. I’m not sure why that happened, as our feeders continue to bring joy and delight as songbirds visit. We haven’t noticed any new migrating visitors for spring yet, but here’s a Tufted Titmouse that wintered with us.

A Tufted Titmouse waits its turn at the feeder.

Birding has seen renewed interest during the pandemic, likely because birdwatching offers a respite from Zoom calls and staring at the same four walls all day, and helps us see beauty even in these difficult days. Have you been watching birds from your home more often than before?

Join me in the hunt for beauty?
Where do you see beauty in a broken world? There’s still time to add your own images during what’s left in the 31-day journey. Please feel free to comment below with your Instagram handle, and tag your Insta posts with #beautyinabrokenworld. You’ll find me there @pixofhope.