Beauty

Forty squirming bodies learning what they're made of

Exposing vulnerable hearts

Handwritten messages inside a freshly printed book

Downward dog, bhujangasana, and child's pose

That time we couldn't stop laughter and our cheeks burned and we forced ourselves to think sad

Tears, a release

Grace, a dignity I didn't have to earn

Burt's Bees drops to soothe a sore throat

Five boys racing, bent, dribbling

A psalm about the Shepherd

Red and gold trimmings for the New Year

Sister texts in the wee hours

Collecting treasures for the future

White shirts that are still white when the sun sets

A straight talking, seasoned, encouragement in the flesh

“I am a hunter of beauty and I move slow and I keep the eyes wide, every fiber of every muscle sensing all wonder and this is the thrill of the hunt and I could be an expert on the life full, the beauty meat that lurks in every moment.

I hunger to taste life.

God.”

Ann Voskamp