Sneaking up on Glory

It never happens all at once.  It is a kind of glory that sneaks up on those who go looking for it.  Already traces of it can be seen around the edges.  Not everywhere, but in places, the dark green foliage is starting to edge into a burnt orange, sometimes faded yellow.  In the beginning the change is so subtle no one really pays any attention and then, suddenly, there is enough showing for the unseeking eye to see.  As the calendar moves deeper into the year and the temperature shows signs of changing, the season of fall is just beyond the next curve and glory right behind it.    

The truth is we all live on the edge of glory.  There are those classic moments of breakthrough such as the evening sunset, the morning sunrise,  the mountain panorama, or the sweeping horizon filled with the joining of sea and sky.  Glory really does not sneak up on us.  It is always out there for us to see.  As those who are brought into being by the divine Creator there is a bit of glory within each of us and because we live midst what bears the imprint of His holy hands, the glory of God is never far removed from us, but instead, always and everywhere ever present.  The problem with not seeing the glory all around us is a problem of not seeing and not a problem with the Creator revealing it in our midst.    

There are times when our comprehension of the glory of God in the Creation around us is spectacular and other times when seeing requires the silence of stillness and a spirit that has learned the discipline of waiting instead of demanding.  Watching the change taking place around us each day makes us aware that glory is not just on the way, but here for those who take the time to see what is breaking in all around them.  The burnt orange and faded yellow of today is glorious in itself and assures us that glory is slowly sneaking into our midst in an even greater way than is revealed today.  So it is with the glory of creation and so it is with the glory of God.