A Cotton Candy Sky

From the past through our current times, cotton candy remains an iconic food at carnivals and fairs.  Although now you can buy bags of cotton candy in the snack sections of grocery stores, nothing really takes the place of the old-style kettles that are still found at fairs, rodeos and sports arenas. The smell entices customers, both young and not-so-young. The kettle begins to whirr. The sugar spins. In an instant, hot sugar magically transforms into an airy confection.  A little food dye added to the mix brings a bright pink color.  At just the right moment, a tiny cloud of sweetness forms.  The vendor captures the sugary strands on a paper cone and hands it to eager kids (and their families) waiting for their chances to gobble up the sticky mess.

It’s been a while since I indulged in cotton candy, yet today I feasted on that airy confection. Along about 6 am, just after the sun broke over the horizon, a stray cloud drifted above my eastward-facing porch. The cloud was infused with light– a bright pink light.  Combine the color with the cloud’s wispy texture and I saw (with the help of a little imagination) hanging overhead a giant cone of cotton candy. My camera couldn’t come close to capturing its magical essence, no matter how many editing tools I chose. I stored that image in another type of “folder”- my memory. Just like a cone of cotton candy, the cloud was delicate, temporary—and pink- oh, so pink! I sat . I gazed. I lingered… The cares that sometimes spin around me began to fade.  Soon, I tasted the pure sweetness of God’s ephemeral presence.

After no more than two or three minutes, the bright pink color disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. The cotton candy cloud transformed into tones of gray as the sun rose higher in the sky… and yet… My cotton candy morning remains. There is no sticky residue, sugary overdose or even an amateurish photograph as evidence of this tiny, everyday miracle. Yet something does remain… an image of such beauty that even a few hours later, I am mesmerized by its memory.  An ordinary morning became extraordinary. I imagined this lovely message written on a cloud by the hand of God: 

Savor this beautiful world while you are able. Hold on to wonder with a delicate touch.  Relish the sweetness of this miraculous world. Reach for it.  Immerse yourself in it. Fill your soul to the brim.

Later in the day, I chose a square of paper and a couple of brushes. I opened my watercolor palette and tried to mix the exact shade of that cotton candy sky.  I found it impossible.  No matter.  When I look at this small painting, I look with my mind’s eye. I see that pink, spun-sugar cloud. I savor that moment. I begin to hum the tune of a much-beloved hymn. I am filled with wonder.

I recently found this quote on a work of art in a local gallery.  It’s a perfect fit for this morning’s thoughts and prayers– and for the painting-in-a-cloud that I witnessed.

What is this life if, full of care

We have no time to stand and stare-  W. H. Davies

This little picture does not duplicate the early morning sky, nor does it fully portray it. It does not erase the cares of my heart, nor provide an escape from the uncertainties of these times. No matter. A cotton candy sky is a precious reminder of the wisps of beauty, the strands of Love that enter our lives.  They come unexpectedly.  They rarely linger.  When they do appear, they are oh, so very sweet.  We stand and stare.  We sing. We whisper a prayer of thanks.

For the beauty of the earth

For the splendor of the sky

For the Love which from our birth

Over and around us lies

God of all, to thee we raise

This our hymn of grateful praise.¹

1 For the Beauty of the Earth, (1838,1864),  a hymn by Pierpoint and Kocher. Excerpt from The Chalice Hymnal, Chalice Press, 1995.