The Beauty of a Spoon

"YEEEEEEESSSSS!" My heart skipped a few beats and continued to flutter at the sight of it. While most young ladies' hearts will palpitate at seeing a handsome young man or sputter when in a shopping mall, my heart was jumping for joy as I poured chocolate syrup into my tall glass of milk. I did a little dance as I pulled the drawer out to find a spoon to mix this delectable drink. Even though I was attempting to be as quick as possible, right when I picked up a spoon, a utensil caught my eye. There was a spoon sitting there, out of the same divider that I had just grabbed out of, that was completely different than the others.
Instead of just a plain little rose at the top like all the other spoons, this one had ornate swirls and flowers. I stopped in the midst of my joyous dance to carefully weigh in my mind this decision. Did I want the spoon I had in my hand, or the beautiful spoon in the drawer?
My eyes went back and forth between the plain and the ornate. "I want the pretty one. Why would I choose the simple one if I can have the amazing one?" So with a little skippy dance, I put the plain spoon back and whisked away the beautiful one.
While I stirred my milk, I pondered the reason why I wanted the pretty spoon so bad.
It was because it was beautiful. Duh.
There is a part of me that is extremely attracted to the study of why we are attracted to beauty, what it is, etc. I have long loved looking at why women wear makeup, what makes certain attributes in a person attractive, and why many people love being outdoors in nature.
In this case, my thought is that because we were created by a beautiful God, we are attracted to things that remind our spirits of Him. I don't mean to make it sound as though I am likening God to a spoon, but I do think that these little things, be it the way the wind moves the tall grass in a meadow, or the sparkle in a woman's eyes, or an ornate spoon, stir in us a love. This love for beauty and the desire to pursue it was, I believe, planted inside us so that we would chase after God, who is the ultimate beauty.
So this is kind of a dumb story. But I would just like to encourage you to stop and take time to appreciate the beauty around you and also realize that it was created to woo your heart into intimacy with Christ. Take a moment to dwell on the incredible love that created the beauty around us and realize that it is yours. He offers it freely to us in each moment. I know that instead of allowing anxiety and stress to rule my day, I should stop briefly throughout it and thank God the ways He reminds me of His beauty and His love. To conclude, here is one of my favorite quotes:
“For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”
-St. Thérèse de Lisieux