Awed by Beauty

Have you ever been taken so aback by something so unexpectedly beautiful that you are left in awe? Speechless? In tears? Have you had those small tastes of heaven where everything is like it should be and the world is perfect? I can think of just a few times I have had an experience like that. The last one I remember was driving towards Denver, CO on I-70 through the Rocky Mountains when I rounded a corner and a bright rainbow crossed the highway ahead. It was the most vivid rainbow I have ever seen, and it looked like a bridge over the interstate connecting the sides of the canyon.

This past week I had one of those moments. The video is here.

I was logging off my e-mail and browsing the headlines when I saw one talking about a woman wowing with her beautiful voice. It was interesting enough for me to check out so I watched it on YouTube. I was completely taken by surprise. I was moved to tears. Here is a woman named Susan Boyle who is described as “frumpy” by the British press, maybe “homely” by us. To the world she is a loser. She is unemployed, has never been married, and admits to having never been kissed. She lives in the same house she grew up in with her cat. Her “type” is the punchline to too many disparaging jokes.

To her credit she is good natured and has doesn’t seem to take herself too seriously, which is good considering the crowd did not take her seriously at all. What does a 47 year-old single overweight gray-haired woman have to offer us after all? But through all the boos she is smiling, laughing, and confident, without ever seeming arrogant. Then she begins to sing. And sing she does. The jeers turn quickly to cheers as one of the best voices I have ever heard rings out. It turned the usually scowling Simon Cowell into a delighted school boy.

The deep emotion comes in watching the wowed judges admit that they were not expecting much, and they got more than they had ever bargained for. The tears come from watching Susan have the excitement of a child as she has finally been able to show the world the marvelous gift that she has.

Perhaps one of the strongest cases for the authorship of God and that we are made in His image is beauty. It makes no sense. It seems only humans are capable of being taken by beauty, and we are the only creatures capable of participating in the creation of beauty. Beauty brings us to a place of deep awe and reverence. It moves us in ways that will never be forgotten. It gives us just a small taste of what heaven will be like when we are with the Author of all beauty. And isn’t it like God to give some of the most heavenly musical pipes to an unknown simple woman from Scotland. Perhaps we miss His beauty too often because we are too ingrained in our expectations.

There is an irony to all this though. The same woman that people were jeering because of how she looked is the same one people are cheering because of how she can sing. We are still guilty of loving only because people can offer us something. Many people only see her as valuable because she can sing. We are still terribly shallow. Nothing about Susan’s voice changes her character or her heart.

For a few moments as Susan walked off stage it seemed like everything for a brief moment was right with the world. Everything was flipped upside down as the true underdog wowed us all. The humble woman was able to share her gift with the world, and it was received gladly. True beauty and talent was discovered and it made appearances into nothing. Praise be to God for moments like this, where we see the true beauty that transcends appearance and moves the heart.