this was the way the Glory of the Lord appeared to me: whitewashed pine and gold leaf | 2004 A piece about the phenomenon of the rainbow, sublime wonder, and Ezekiel. Chosen pixels have been rendered in subtly stained and gold gilded pine blocks. Ezekiel 1:28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking. What we know about color is through our eyes. And though I have read some scientific and medical explanations for the process, it is still rather a mystery to me. And I'm glad that is the case. It allows for me to believe that my vision is a gift, and that moments of particular surprise to my eyes are meaningfulÉ somehow meant for me. One of these moments was walking back the tractor lane at my grandparents' farm in Pennsylvania, right next to the old shagbark hickory that had been struck twice by lightning, while a summer storm quickly wrapped around me. The rainbow's half circles above the horizon, delicately fading in and out of the mist, warmed and refracted the great droplets of water. I thought of Ezekiel's vision of a completed circle of rainbow around the heavenly throne. The other half, God's silent smile, obscured by the earth but ever-present for me to know.