The Pursuit of Beauty (Part III): Be On Time for a Beautiful Future

The morning after our “get above the clouds” experience, I went to another overlook to take some daybreak photos.  The nightfall photos had been so amazing; could God possibly top the beauty of the prior evening?   You already know the answer.

I had taken pictures from the overlook near Sky Valley on the Dillard/Highlands Road a couple of times before.  I knew it provided a very impressive view of the valley which was often enshrouded with clouds early in the morning.  I left the hotel about 6 a.m. with a fresh cup of coffee and my camera in hand.  The pursuit of beauty definitely has a timing component to it.  Wise King Solomon wrote, “A wise man’s heart discerns both time and judgment, because for everything there is a time and judgment” (Ecclesiastes 8:5-6).  Timing is often overlooked (pun intended) as an essential component to success.  The right thing done at the wrong time is doomed to failure.  Conversely, the right thing done at the right time is a recipe for success – and this concept is not limited to photography.

I had already checked on the time for sunrise and knew I had a little time to spare.  I started playing the soundtrack from the movie Brave on my drive to the overlook.  The bagpipes and Scottish-themed music fit right in with the foggy drive up the winding Dillard/Highlands Road.  No wonder so many early Scotch/Irish immigrants settled in the north Georgia Mountains.  The misty mountains must have reminded them of their former homeland.

I set up my mini-flexible gorilla tripod and waited for daybreak…very impatiently, I must confess.  I snapped several photos as soon as I was able to make out the outline of the mountains.  But there just was not enough light.  More than 20 photos were soon deleted from my camera.  As it approached 6:30 a.m. a glorious foggy valley came into focus.  The majestic mountains, rising above the valley below, looked otherworldly.  It was if heaven came down and touched the earth for a brief time.  I just don’t know a better way to describe it.

The prime time for these photos was probably not longer than 15 minutes.  It took planning to be at the right place at the right time.  I had to sacrifice a little extra sleep to be there to experience this exceptional moment.  There was only a brief window of opportunity for me to snap these photos.  And so it is with much of life.  Have you ever been too early or too late for something that could have been spectacular?  Can you think of times in your life where you have missed a unique window of opportunity?

King Solomon also wrote, “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).  We need to pay more attention to timing, and we will be sure to experience more beauty in this life.  If we will show up at the right place at the right time we will succeed in our pursuit of beauty. But you will never see a sunrise if you insist on sleeping in, and you will miss it if you don’t wait long enough.  This is the balance required by beauty.  Following God’s plan, with punctuality and patience will result in a revelation of beauty.

I have seen the importance of timing in the sports I have played: baseball and tennis.  I have seen the importance of timing in my hobbies of hiking, kayaking and photography.  I have seen the importance of timing in the arts: music and writing.  I have seen the importance of timing in my professional life as a lawyer and mediator.  You may file the most compelling brief, but if it is too late – you lose.  I have seen the importance of timing in my family life.  The parenting we provide during the different seasons of our children’s lives must change, and words of wisdom must be “in due season.” I have seen the importance of timing in my spiritual life.  Faith is waiting on the things we cannot see yet.  Faith says daybreak is coming – even while you are standing in the darkness.  Just like my mountains in the photos I took that morning, in God’s perfect timing the beauty was revealed.

So many of the disappointments we experience in life are just missed appointments with unique, brief windows of opportunity.  They are literally dis-appointments.  Those dis-appointments usually come when we have procrastinated, slept-in, or otherwise delayed in doing something (often because of fear), thereby forfeiting a beautiful future.  Likewise, dis-appointments occur when we have “jumped the gun”, shown up at the wrong time, or just given up too early.  You have an appointment with your destiny.  Be sure to be on time for your beautiful future.