The other night, I had stayed late at the office. As I left the office and walked to my car, I paused and glanced to the West. The sun had just recently set and was setting the western sky ablaze. My breath was taken away. The low-flying clouds were alive with color -- oranges, reds, maroon, purple, and upward into deep blue. I stood there for several minutes and watched the fires die out and night complete its encroachment.

Even now, it was a very touching moment. In these times of partisan wranglings in government, the continuing criminal unrest in Iraq, the malaise that is my job, and the pomp and circumstance of a papal funeral; it is absolutely necessary that we remember to stop and see the beauty that is all around us. If you don't see it, you're not really looking. It's right in front of you. The hundreds of shades of green in the grass. The way the sun reflects off a rain-filled puddle. The abstract harmony of a discarded chewing gum wrapper set against the patterned relief of a sidewalk slab. If you really look, you will find beauty everywhere.

When I see such things, I have no doubts that there is a powerful God who has created the universe. The complexity of how beauty is interspersed throughout creation can only be accomplished by an Almighty God. So, when you're tired, when you're busy, when you're distracted -- take a moment.