Seeing is believing

I have always wanted to visit Canada, ever since I was a small child and we obtained our first television, a small, secondhand, black and white set that died during the first programme we were able to watch on our own set. It was something about baby bears, but what, I don't remember. Uncle Frank repaired the television... regularly ... and so we soldiered on. In those days, even a secondhand television was a privileged item in most homes.

The dream to visit Canada came as a result of the Corn Flakes ad. The background music was 'The Big Country', but the image on the screen was one of unending miles of corn fields, with a combined harvester almost disappearing in its vastness. I did not believe that any country on earth could be so vast and so beautiful.

Perhaps, one day, my dream might come true. I might be able to see Canada in reality. Yet, looking back, it seems to me that every place on earth has its own particular beauty, a loveliness that isn't transferable to any other location.

The first time that I saw Victoria Falls, during my twelve years in Zambia, I stood, speechless, watching thousands of tons of water cascading with incredible force to the Zambezi River beneath. My only reaction was one of incredulity: "How could anybody see this and not believe in God?"

We don't actually need to travel to be captivated by beauty. We don't need expensive equipment to experience the presence of God in his Creation. All we need is a listening heart. God is beauty.

God bless,
Sr. Janet