So it is only 10:30 in the morning but my family and I have already been up for over six hours and had an extraordinary day. Today was Take Two for the Balloon Fiesta, and to help ensure we did not have a repeat of Saturday, we did two things differently. (1) We did not go with the shuttle service, and (2) we left an hour earlier, meaning Drew and I were up by 4:15 this morning and we were out of the house by 5 am. I won't bore you with all of the details, but I will say there was a brief scare that the morning's Fiesta events may not take place. The initial Dawn Patrol was canceled due to higher altitude sheer winds which meant that the mass ascension may or may not take place as it may not be safe for the balloonists. All we could do was hope for safer weather and, of course, only wish for safety for all the balloonists. Not more than ten to fifteen minutes later though, the first balloon began to fill with air. The fun began. As the morning continued, I could not help but be filled with a wonder at the beauty of these flying machines. They can be made in so many shapes and forms and comes in all colors, and the grace with which they lift off the ground and rise into the air is nearly indescribable. It was a beautiful morning, both because of the grace and beauty of the hot air balloons and because of the beauty of the natural setting surrounding us (the Sandia Mountains were in the background).
7) When God created this world, I cannot think of any reason why He had to make it beautiful. It was not necessary. He could have made it solely functional, but in doing so, we may not know literature, theater, art, music, the beauty of nature, vibrant colors, hot air balloons, etc. Maybe I am wrong. Perhaps beauty is an intricate and necessary part of creation and without it life fails. Either way, from what I saw this morning, it is a true blessing. There is so much that is beautiful- that primarily adds to and enriches our lives. And with that beauty, our very soul seems to soar, like the very hot air balloons I watched this morning.
8) The other aspect I marveled at this morning was the sheer variety of the balloons. Although we saw hundreds of balloons, nearly every one was different in some way or another, and the same is true for us. We could say this for so many things which God created for us. He didn't have to make it this way. He could have created a single food source for humans which met all of our nutritional needs and we could eat that for every meal. Wouldn't that be interesting? We would probably end up like Isreal did with their manna- complaining. Instead, we have such variety that most of the time I can barely decide what to eat and if we choose to go out to eat, I have a terrible time deciding where to eat. I love variety, andI love seeing it in things around me- such as the hot air balloons- as much as I love it in my diet. Just another way God has blessed me when He most definitely didn't have to do so.
Beautiful Pictures...Must have been a blessing filled day!
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