Of God and Kaleidoscopes

One of my favorite childhood memories is of looking through a kaleidoscope.  Just a cardboard tube holding three mirrors to form a triangle, with shards of brightly colored glass tumbling in a drum at the other end.  A simple toy, really, but capable of rendering the most exquisitely beautiful designs.  And when formed, the picture must be savored once and for all, for the patterns are infinite, and once lost can never again be reclaimed.  Instead, another image comes into view, completely different and yet composed of the exact same pieces.  Each moment is redesigned in a new and glorious experience, wonder yielding to majestic wonder.

Perhaps God is a little like that kaleidoscope.  The three mirrors are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, reflecting the dazzling glory of their combined Oneness.  Whatever grace we glimpse today must be savored today, for tomorrow the favor will be gone, replaced by a different but no less beautiful grace.  His grace takes many forms, and his mercies endure forever.