peacocks

I drove almost a mile up a gravel road, to the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere.  I walked up the steps to the porch of a trailer that had been home to my patient for 65 years.  And then, among the chickens, the rusted cars, the sheds and dilapidated fence I saw this amazing bird.

I've seen peacocks before.  They belong in a movie.  Their creativity and color is outrageous.  You could easily blame it on an overzealous special effects team.

Or a zoo.  Where people pay money and expect to gawk in wonder at rare and wonderful animals.

Or the lawn of the Biltmore Estate.  With all that opulence and grandeur, the regal peacock would feel right at home.

But here?  In the back woods, among dogs and chickens?  No crowds or photographers or lines.  Just one awestruck chaplain on a porch, smiling at the incongruity, enjoying the show, marveling at the colors and design.  WOW.

Every time I read Aaron Niequist's blog, I find a quote I just have to adopt.  Here's the latest...

“. . all the beauty of the world, the beauty that calls our admiration, our gratitude, our worth-ship at the earthly level, is meant as a set of hints, of conspiratorial whispers, of clues and suggestions and flickers of light, all nudging us into believing that behind the beautiful world is not random chance but the loving God.”  N.T. Wright, For All God’s Worth