I spent quite a bit of time babysitting when I was a teenager. One memory that has stayed with me is this one.
I was babysitting a little girl who wasaround six years old. I had permission to drive her
to my house,
because I thought she might
like some of the hiking that was available
on the land behind my house.
This walk wasn't really too far, probably about a mile. I knew that from a certain spot, we could see a waterfall.
I hadn’t been on that particular walk in a long time, so I was looking forward to seeing it as well.
So, we went walking along, visiting about the waterfall that we were going to see.
“Is it a real waterfall?” she asked excitedly.
“Yes.”
“Is it really big?” she asked.
“It’s not huge, but it is pretty big. And you can even see the top of it, before it actually falls. You can see the whole thing.” I explained.
“Wow!”
When we arrived at the lookout, I was dismayed. I knew she was going to be disappointed. I wanted to apologize, but I didn’t really know what to say.
The last time I had seen the waterfall, the water had been clear, or at least somewhat clear. What we saw that day looked like very dirty, muddy water, and the waterfall wasn’t nearly as pretty as I had seen before.
Before I could say anything, I heard the sharp intake of her breath.
“It’s so beautiful!” she exclaimed. I looked at her and saw a face full of wonder at what I thought was a rather gross sight.
She was absolutely captivated by what she was seeing. Where I saw a muddy mess, she saw something majestic.
I sincerely hope that if she remembers that day at all, she remembers the waterfall as she saw it, and not how it really was!
It really does go to show that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
And even muddy waterfalls can be beautiful.
