There was a soft green carpet across the desert today.  We have had some pretty good rains in the past few weeks.  The result has been something we don’t see often…green!  It’s beautiful, and everyone notices immediately.  It completely changes the scenery.

Of course, it reminded me of life.  We so often think of rain (difficulty) as a negative thing.  It can change our plans.  Can dampen the spirits. Comes with gray clouds.  Makes driving a pain.  It’s cold and wet and dreary.  But what if we look at what it produces?  It’s easy to see in the desert where we rarely get rain.  The rain brings with it life and beauty and green.  It brings freshness and cleansing.

What if we saw difficulty in the same light?  That the temporary discomfort we experience is what God uses to cleanse and refresh and beautify us.  Looking at it in this way can make us less apt to just long for reprieve from the rain, and more prone to looking forward to the result of the rain and the change it makes in our scenery.

Rain has a purpose.  God has a plan.  And we have the privilege of experiencing the truest green each time.