I watched God complete a work of art as we drove home in the early evening. The sky clung unabashedly to that summer blue, all the while surrendering to the divine white brush strokes applied by the Master’s hand. I decided then and there that if I should ever lose my ability to see, the two things I would miss the most would be the sight of Mount Katahdin looming before me on I-95 and this perfect July 9 sky above.
“What lies beyond this magnificent, endless ceiling above us?” I asked Dale. He shook his head slowly, his gaze upward. “Do you think there are other worlds; other lives beyond Earth?” Dale smiled at me then, anticipating me to continue with my observations, speculations, and theories. I chose to remain quiet, however. This rare scene deserved more than my usual philosophical rambling. For just a moment, I paid no heed to the worries that had been running rampant through the corridors of my mind for the past three weeks. I chose to direct my energy elsewhere; granting myself respite.
When I was a child, I would lie on my back and wait patiently for the clouds to pass; my mind designing an image or deciphering a message from those ever-changing, billowy formations above me. Rabbits, houses, cars, daisies, trees, polar bears — even the face of Abraham Lincoln; all of these images would pull away from seemingly nonsensical rolls of vapor.
We carry on beneath our own miniscule piece of blue sky for we cannot begin to fathom the magnitude of our universe or the infinite number of universes that exist. We are placated with all that is at our fingertips; unconcerned with the great beyond. Caught up in the joy and the turmoil of my own life, I have little time to solve the mysteries of my world. From time to time, however, you will find me looking toward that azure dome above; questioning my origin, my purpose, and my destiny.
I have always been poignant in my belief in God for I know we are much, much more than bone and tissue. There is a Creator responsible for all of this. My friends, I do not buy into the Big Bang Theory (though I love the show!) This blue sky that blankets Earth is not a coincidental jackpot of perfection; it is a well designed masterpiece.
We continued our drive home, my eyes full of that dazzling sky. Dale and I walked slowly into our house, reluctant to say farewell to the fading sun. My worries became soft sighs; tangled up in the grandeur of dusk and the comfort of my goldendoodle’s velvet nose pressing against my open hand and welcoming me home.
Belinda Wilcox Ouellette lives Connor TWP with her husband Dale and their Goldendoodle Barney. They are currently working on building a home in Caribou. You may contact Belinda online at: dbwouellette @maine.rr.com.
