In the midst of our ugliness

A few weeks ago I was visiting with a friend in the cafe of our local book store.  Looking out the window I saw a glorious sunset and couldn't resist going outside to take a picture with my cell phone (the only camera I had with me).  At the time all I could think was how I wished the cars, the parking lot, the neon signs, and the utility poles weren't sharing the scene with the sunset.
Often on my way to or from work I am so moved by the beauty of the sun and the clouds that I want to stop the car and gaze on it without distraction.  Even if I could stop, there would almost always be distraction in the form of our man-made landscape.
It was like that this morning - glorious skies, the light of fall that I can't begin to describe.  I wanted to take a photo but couldn't frame it without including utility poles.  I remembered this photo from the evening at the book store and my disappointment that it included all that commercial property.  I pulled it up on my phone and gave it another look.
That's when I realized that I had been blind to the true beauty of both of the scenes.
What did I see that I hadn't noticed before?  I saw God's glory in the midst of our ugliness - not isolated from it.  I was reminded that God is always "in the picture", even when we have focused on something else.