Monday, November 21, 2011

Beauty in The Dying

The ill-tempered wind whips through me leaving my body filled with chills in its wake. The fallen leaves crunches conspicuously beneath my feet reminding me that I walk among the dying.


The scene around me steals my breath again and again with its sighing sorrow.


And yet thrills continue to shoot throughout my being as I take shot after shot of this broken, aging maiden, giving her best before she breathes her last.


What is it that draws me into the death,
the brokenness,
the sorrow,
the pain?

This beauty
This passion
in the face of certain doom,
she yet gives her best, her very best,
seemingly thinking nothing of herself,
but only of the fragrance to the world that her life,
and yes,
even her death bring.


She is not like Spring, whose vibrance and luster for life is contagious and infectious, holding promise, newness, redemption. Her beauty is not simply from the desire for life; it is from the living of that life. The joys, the laughter, the wonder, and even the heart breaks and tragedies.

Autumn knows what is to come.
Her wisdom flows from her breezes, her branches, her heartsong singing ballads of days gone by.


But yet....
She faces it bravely, putting on her most royal robes as a sign, not of surrender, but of purpose, of destiny.

She has surrendered.
She has fought the good fight.
She has kept the faith.
She has finished the race.


For now....
Only for now...

She reminds me to walk bravely into the desert, the winter, the quiet places
She opens my eyes to the beauty unseen in the dying.
The beauty that one can only see when brokenness became your anthem, your mantra, your identify.

But you survive....

Her beauty brings peace.
Rest.
Safety.
Home.

Proverbs 31:25 says,
"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come."





28 comments:

Meredith said... Best Blogger Tips

Lovely.

I just want to sit with the images that you have created . . .
And savor them.

Simply beautiful.

Amy said... Best Blogger Tips

Beautiful.  I love this way of looking at autumn.

Africa's Blog said... Best Blogger Tips

Absolutely beautiful!!!

Stacey29lincoln said... Best Blogger Tips

I have always loved fall best.  I love your words,"she faces it bravely, putting on her most royal robes as a sing, not of surrender, but of purpose, of destiny."

Beautiful! 
Thanks for linking up!

Denise J. Hughes said... Best Blogger Tips

I love fall. I love the colors, the coolnes of the air, the coming of Christmas. Your words here, and your pictures, are just beautiful. Yes, there IS beauty in the dying.

JeriT said... Best Blogger Tips

Oh, fall is definitely me. The weather, the colors. Our home is decked in fall all year round. The part that hit home was how she gives her very best in the face of doom and thinks nothing of herself. It felt like she doesn't even have to think about it. It comes naturally...flows naturally and so her fragrance in living and dying is sweet.

Katie Orr said... Best Blogger Tips

"The beauty that one can only see when brokenness became your anthem, your mantra, your identify." 

What a great picture of seeing God's purpose in every season of life!  

Thanks for sharing.

Ro elliott said... Best Blogger Tips

this is absolutely beautiful...lovely weaved the pictures with your words...
Blessed Thanksgiving

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Thanks, Katie...it has been quite a road to get my eyes to SEE that...

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Me too! SO my favorite season...just gorgeous!!  I am learning to be like her...allowing HIS grace to flow naturally through me...not easy but only by His grace...

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Thank you, Denise...there is indeed. There is indeed.

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Me too! Absolute FAV season!  Thanks for the opportunity!

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Thank you, Debbie!

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Thanks, Amy! I am constantly rediscovering myself...

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Oh, thank you, Meredith...what precious words to this writer's soul.

Tara_pohlkottepress said... Best Blogger Tips

fall as an aging maiden...lovely! just lovely.

Kim said... Best Blogger Tips

I really love this! So much to ponder. Thank you. 

The Orange Tree said... Best Blogger Tips

festive and beautiful imagery, well done.

Alittlebitograce said... Best Blogger Tips

The photos are gorgeous, the one of the birch trees is my favourite. 

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Thank you very much....blessed day to you too!

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Thank you, Tara! She is indeed!

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Thank you, Kim....I love that!

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Thank you much. Happy Thanksgiving!

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Thank you...I love that you like that one...different from the rest! Happy Thanksgiving!

Emily Wierenga said... Best Blogger Tips

"this broken, aging maiden..." you capture her spirit magnificently friend.

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Thank you...she has truly become a friend...

Koodaigirl said... Best Blogger Tips

Found your blog via Jenn Camp---  loved pokin' around for a bit!!  (I am a mom of a young, budding, amazing mk girl).  I loved that we basically wrote the same blog--- 
http://hisgirlalone.blogspot.com/2011/10/beauty-of-death.html---- you just a bit more beautifully!  But, a kindred heart, I have found in you.  

Koodaigirl said... Best Blogger Tips

http://hisgirlalone.blogspot.com/2011/10/beauty-of-death.html

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