On our trip to New Mexico, we passed the National Petrified Forest Park in eastern Arizona.  As we were walking on one of the trails, I came across a lizard I had never seen before.  It is called a common ring neck lizard that I thought you might like to see.  At first glance you see the beauty of this lizard with its colorful markings.

I am colorblind, but I could see the beautiful markings of this common ring neck reptile.  You can see the black rings on the neck, the yellow feet, the gray and yellow dots on his body and tail, and the solid gray (I was informed by my wife as she read my jlog that my description of the colors is way off) on his legs.  I looked at his color and even my color blindness appreciated the beauty he bestowed lying on this rock.

What I did next was to enhance this picture a bit and bring it closer.

You begin to see something different about this lizard.  He is covered with little dots like armor all over his body.  His nose has bright red dots (what color I see) and his eyes have those same dots to protect him when he is going among the thorns of the desert.  You also see the ears to the left of his eyes just before the black, white and yellow rings around his neck.  Such a little reptile and yet she is one of 9,500+ reptiles slithering on the surface of the earth.  A magnificent species of God’s creation.

As I have gone on this journey, I have never stopped to meditate on one aspect of God’s creation as I am learning to do.  My getting from point A to point B  and accomplishing my goals in life have often hindered my eyes from seeing the beauty right in front of me. This lizard has taught me to slow down and really see the beauty that is before me, including those He has placed before me in relationship with.  Today is another opportunity to see His beauty.