One of the beautiful creations of our Lord, at least in my humble opinion, is the Spanish moss that covers trees in the Southeast United States.   I love to look at it, to walk beneath it, to savor the peace that it seems to bring to the trees from which it hangs.

Actually, what we call Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) is really not a moss.  It is a bromeliad, from the same family as succulent house plants and pineapples. 

Also, it is not a parasite that takes nutrients away from the host tree.  Rather, the plant lives on rain and fog, sunlight and airborne or waterborne dust and debris.  (If that was my diet, well … I digress!)

The plant further has a name that is really irrelevant to its character since it is not from Spain.  It actually is native to Central and South America, as well as the Southeastern United States and the Caribbean.  It grows wherever there is a healthy tree in a tropical swampland. 

The fable of the origin of Spanish Moss tells the story like this:

Gorez Goz was a bearded brute who bought a beautiful Indian maiden for a yard of braid and a mere bar of soap. The mere sight of the Spaniard so frightened the girl that she ran away from him. Gorez Goz chased right behind her, until at last he climbed up after her to the top of a tree. The maiden dove into the water and escaped, but Gorez Goz’s beard got hopelessly entangled in the tree’s branches. There he died, but we can still see his “greybeard” on trees throughout the Lowcountry—as the Spanish moss out on the limbs.

[This information was found at http://mentalfloss.com/article/67807/10-things-you-should-know-about-spanish-moss  accessed October 9, 2017]

Spanish moss, to me, is beautiful in its silent adornment of the branches of the host trees.

Beauty is a characteristic that is hard to define.  What one person believes is beautiful, another person would pass by without even a notice.  So, not everyone would agree with my opinion that Spanish Moss is beautiful.  But, external beauty is not the paramount criterion for a finding of beauty. 

Scripture talks about beauty on multiple occasions, and, when speaking of mankind, it always involves not only physical beauty but spiritual beauty.  For example, Peter writes to the women in the church:

“Do not let your adorning be external–the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear — but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”

1 Peter 3:3-4 ESV

Appreciate beauty.  Be in awe of how God supplies the needs of even the insignificant Spanish moss as it grows without harming its host tree, decorating and adorning it with beauty.  Be thankful for the beauty of the earth, of music, of nature and its ways. 

Here is John Rudder’s beautiful version of “For the Beauty of the Earth” on the album Gloria, Sacred Music of John Rudder.  It is my prayer that it would speak to your spirit and brighten your day.

Now praise our God that He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things.  Let your soul swell and your spirit sing as you consider our Mighty, Loving and Saving God.

Father, Thank You for Your creation that speaks so eloquently of Your grace, might, provision and wonder.  I praise Your Holy Name for all your marvelous ways.