What a day today is! Father’s Day and the anniversary of my marriage to my sweetheart. Two great days in one!

I have a father who is especially wonderful. He makes it a point to see the beauties of the world wherever he is. He sees beauty on an icy glacier and in the midst of a dry desert and everywhere in between. He has taught his children to see the beauty around us.

I will always remember the spring day my parents took my sweetheart and me to the desert outside their home. We got out of the car and walked, looking at the ground. There we saw tiny, beautiful desert flowers lying next to the earth. Cactus had showy flowers. Other plants were blooming in response to the spring rains, attracting bees to pollinate and ensure their survival.

On another day, we went through Zion’s National Park, enjoying the beautiful plants and the occasional animal. We traveled through the tunnel, and found autumn leaves and natural markings in the sandstone mountains, like a great chessboard. Together we wished to be young enough again to hike to the other side of the ridge.

Dad’s exclamations of the beauties of Hawaii were typical of him. He noticed the small flowers, the great waterfalls, the continual waves beating on the shore. He appreciated the rainbows and sunsets. Almost everywhere we lived was enlightened by dad’s delight in God’s creations.

Even today, at age 86, dad and mom will spurn the freeways to drive the “back roads” hoping to see antelope or rabbits, beautiful flowers or other interesting beauties of nature. He is happy to notice cloud formations or rock formations, flowers or animals. He has always pointed them out to the rest of us and we have joined him, seeking for the beauty wherever we are.

One of the joys of the day is a remembrance of the day my young sweetheart and I were joined in marriage. He had traveled from Guam to Northern Utah, then we traveled together to Utah’s Dixie to be married in a sacred temple of our God. We stood on the white steps of that magnificent building, blinking into the sunlight, barely able to see the gardens and green around us. Was it the sun or our love for each other? Probably both!

My sweet husband has been much like my father, looking for beauty in the world around us. We marveled at unparalleled sunsets of Guam: deepest purples, darkest reds and oranges were stunning to our eyes. The Pacific Islands are incredible, even old dead fence posts would return to life, amazing us.

On the mountains and valleys of a little Alaskan island we were drawn to tiny orchids, dainty and beautiful. In the harbor sat a tall mountain that constantly steamed, a live volcano venting often enough to prevent a dramatic event.

Together this good man and I have enjoyed the beauties of the earth, the mountains, the oceans, the rivers and valleys of the world. We have watched otters playing in the surf and eagles snatching salmon from the lines of fishermen. We have seen mountain goats and antelope, beaver and elk, even Rock Apes in Gibraltar.

This is truly a beautiful world. I am grateful to be able to enjoy it, loving the beauties as taught by my father and shared by my husband.