Unfinished Rainbows, and Other EssaysAnderson, George Wood
Religion
Unfinished Rainbows, and Other Essays
Anderson, George Wood
Christianity
We love all mountains because of their rugged strength and majesty,
yet no two mountains are alike, for to the mountains God has given
personality. The Rockies stand like naked giants with knotted muscles
ever ready to grapple with storms that smite their rugged sides,
rejoicing, like strong men, at the ease with which they break the
strength of their adversary, and hurl the whirlwind, like a helpless
zephyr, into the mighty chasms at their feet. The Alps are like a
procession of kings, bejeweled and berobed for coronation day. To
see the Alps is to have a holiday and have one’s soul thrilled with
boyhood’s wonderment and praise. The Catskills are a languid group of
charming country folk with whom you can sit and chat, and feel the
magic wonderment of childhood creeping through the soul, as you listen
to quaint voices repeat their myths and legends. No two mountains are
alike, for God likes versatility in heaped-up piles of rock as much as
in fluttering leaves and blooming flowers.
No two sunsets are alike. The hanging tapestries of the west may be
woven in the same looms of mist, and dyed in the same vats of scarlet,
purple, red, and orange; they may be laced with the same golden
strands of unraveled sunbeams; and their drapery may reveal the
self-same angel touch, yet no two sunsets are alike, each having its
own individuality, and living forever as a master painting to beautify
the walls of memory. Well do youth and maiden stand with clasped hands
as they face the sunset. Let them feast upon its gorgeous beauty until
their hearts are filled with light and love, for they shall never see
another sunset just like that. Returning to the valley’s old familiar
paths, where they shall walk together amid their mingled lights and
shades, they shall rejoice through many years because of the brilliancy
of that one sunset which God made for them, and for them alone.
This love for originality is seen in the play of the wild waves’ crest
whose molten silver falls into beads and necklaces and pendants of
unequaled workmanship to fill the unseen jewel caskets of the deep.
What is true of the natural world is also true of man. Consider the
variations of the human face. Reflecting upon the limited number of
features, one is amazed to think that such an infinite combination
of facial forms and expressions can be created. There are only two
eyes, two ears, one nose and one mouth, and yet out of that small
combination, behold what God hath wrought! From the soft, pink rosebud
of a baby’s smiling face, looking with wistful wonderment at a newly
found world; through all the charming sweetness of maiden’s cheek
and love-laden eyes; through all the grandeur of the hero’s chiseled
features; through the glory of motherhood smiling affectionately
upon her little brood; through manhood making battle for home and
righteousness--through all these until, at last, you behold the
unequaled beauty, majesty, grandeur, and dignity of old age, no two
countenances are alike.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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