". . . the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass."

(Revelation 21:21)

"Wow, this is unbelievable, beautiful, fantastic -- it's like being on a different planet!" These thoughts filled my mind as I stepped out of the helicopter onto an Alaskan glacier. The flight out over dark forests, snow-capped mountains, and glacier-filled valleys had been gorgeous, but not unfamiliar. I had seen similar stunning panoramas on previous flights over the Pacific northwest and Alaska, and had viewed glaciers at distances from land and boats. But this was the first time I had actually been on one. I was shocked not only by the unexpected degree of its beauty but also by my reaction.

Having lived in northern Wisconsin, I was familiar with walking on crusted snow-packs and had often relished the spun-glass look of ice crystals gleaming in the sun. Yet, what I was viewing on that glacier seemed worlds away from anything I had experience before. Sunlight glistened on the crystallized snow -- I felt I was walking on wavy fields of crush diamonds. Frozen waves of snow were outlined with fine gravel picked up when the glacier slowly slid down the mountains. Bright blue patches gleamed in newly exposed crevasses and pools of freshly melted ice. I was walking a pavement of "diamonds and turquoise."

The glacier -- devoid of trees, flowers, animals, or birds -- was just an open expanse of waves of sparkling ice crystals interspersed with shallow pools of blue. But it was not monotonous or lacking. Though drastically different from the landscapes and fauna I know and love, I was overwhelmed by its beauty. To my own surprise, I felt as though I would be content if this were the only view I could ever see.

The biblical imagery of heavenly "streets of gold" popped into my mind. As a lover of the outdoors, I had often wondered whether I would fully enjoy a place with streets rather than trails, with pavement more than soil, or gold instead of wildflowers. But on that morning on the glacier I realized the limitations of my preconceived ideas of what is ultimate scenic beauty, or what is needed to enthrall my aesthetic nature. The Lord's creative brush can paint beauty and pleasure far beyond anything I can anticipate and more diverse than I can imagine.