A beautiful church somewhere along Highway 34 in Iowa.

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God…Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. Psalm 84

We traveled along the small highway from Illinois, through Iowa, Nebraska and on home. Picturesque may be cliché, but that doesn’t change the fact that it was. The elegant artistry that surrounds us every day, if we choose to notice, is like a painting on the wall from a favorite photographer or painter, only this is God. Can God’s dwelling place be any less spectacular?

On this last week of Lent, as we journey on toward Easter, I think about how the Psalmist speaks of even the small birds having home with God and how gently this Psalm reminds me that I can settle into God’s presence with joy and thanksgiving. It is a lovely place to be, and what I see around me reminds me, calls me back to that dwelling place with God.

Even in the midst of so much worry and anxiety (new releases of novels will do this!), I can rest in the beauty and peace of God’s presence, if I just take the time to notice.