Unexpected Beauty
God’s handiwork is everywhere.
I love watching autumn come swooping in; especially in Michigan. Trees display their fullest potential in the changing of colors. Flowers that have sat dormant during the warm summer months, are now coming to life. Unexpected beauty is found everywhere.
Unexpected beauty can be found within our lives too. But only if we choose to look for it.
What is an “unexpected” event that has happened in your life? Good or bad? I’m sure an event or season of life immediately came to mind. Have you ever thought about searching for unexpected beauty in it?
No season in life is ever forever. There is ALWAYS a “next” season. A next chapter. A new beginning. Just like the seasons that God has created. Now some things may seem like forever, but even if we take it to the grave, it will end there. Unexpected beauty can be found in the deepest valleys too. One day though, a new beginning (a forever beginning), will begin. Thank you God, for eternity and salvation!
And sometimes to find unexpected beauty, it requires us to let go, much like trees do, pieces that may be holding us back from seeing beauty. Maybe it’s a worry you can’t seem to let go of. A relationship. Or an ideology that you know full well, doesn’t line up with Scripture. It’s often in the changing of seasons, especially when leaves fall and all that’s left are bare branches, when we see ourselves more clearly. Can you relate?
Another reason I love autumn is while spring and summer offer growth, autumn can be all about slowing down and allowing God to chisel away at all the gunk that’s not supposed to be there. Autumn allows us to slow down just long enough to accept the change God is wanting to do in our lives. It allows us to curl up under a blanket, grab a cup of coffee, as the cooler temps enter in. It’s hard to see beauty when we our lives are always focused on the next thing in our fast-paced world. Take a moment and let it all sink in.
So as you watch the trees start to change and witness leaves starting to let go of their comfortable place on the tree, may it remind you that unexpected beauty can be found in recognizing that no season is forever, we too may have to let go of some things, and maybe we just need to slow down long enough to recognize the unexpected beauty around us. For in that, we can see God much more clearly.
