Heightened by the dreary

     This picture doesn't even begin to do it justice!  But it's a rainy, chilly fall day... and I'm remembering anew that dark, damp days always seem to heighten the beauty of fall leaves.  Why is that, I wonder?  No idea, but it's true.  The reds and oranges and yellows of the trees pop when they have a grey, monotonous, dreary background.  Sure, they still look breath-taking on beautiful, sunny days... but somehow, their beauty is magnified on depressing, dark days.
     Maybe it's just a living word picture from God reminding us that in the darkness His light shines brightest.
     And we would not truly know what gratitude is if we didn't experience heartache and disappointments in life.  Everything in life becomes infinitely more precious when sorrow shuffles our lives around and takes away many of those things we took for granted.  And then our sight is cleared and we understand the beauty and joy of the simple.
     If we truly realized the wonder behind the stars dancing across the inky black sky at night, we'd be overcome with gratitude.  Or the bright warmth of the sun.  Or the sound of a loved one's laughter.  But they are just so everyday, so readily available, so a part of our lives that they become almost like wallpaper.  We fail to see them.  Fail to truly see them and appreciate the astounding wonder of each given by the hand of an extraordinarily generous, creative, loving Creator.
     I will never again see a wash of pink splashed across the sky in the early morning in quite the same way again.  Or the vivid oranges of the fall trees.  Or the sound of birds serenading me in the wee hours.  Or the blessed stillness of holding my Bible on my lap while curled up on the sofa in the pre-dawn hours with our sweet old dog, Moses, snoring at my feet.
     No, hours and days and weeks waiting in a hospital room have heightened my joy and wonder at the beauty all around me... and of the simplest blessings in life that I never even realized I possessed.
     How on earth could I have missed them before?  How could I have failed to repeat "Thank You!" over and over again for such an extravagance, such a surfeit of blessings?
     But I do now.
     Thank You for hugs.  Thank You for sisters and brothers.  Thank You for hot baths. Thank You for cozy fall days.  Thank You for hot tea.  Thank You for friends.  Thank You for Bible study.  Thank You for freedom to run errands.  Thank You for the mess of children.  Thank You for the voices of those I love.  Thank You for music.
     And thank You for the beauty of fall leaves on a chilly, dark day reminding us again that You bring perspective out of pain, worship out of waiting, and glory out of gloom.
      For "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5)  In fact, the darkness only succeeds in making the light shine brighter.
      So today, we thank You, Lord, that when You allow sorrow, You will bring surprising joy and beauty out of it.... "a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." (Is.61:3)
     And in the meantime, give us eyes to truly see and hearts that thank... especially in the dreary.  To God be the glory.
   

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