Something Beautiful

A few months ago, we had a terrible storm. It wasn't a hurricane, but it sure looked like one from my dining room window. Rain poured down, and the wind blew the palm trees so that their fronds all faced west. Lightning flashed, and thunder crashed, and my patio umbrella tipped over. Then it happened. The big acacia tree we had planted about ten years ago fell to the ground, uprooted by the wind. It had been a messy tree, always dropping branches when there was any kind of storm, and spreading seedpods everywhere. But it had given a light shade to a section of the property, and the birds seemed to like the flowers high up in its branches.

As we cleaned up the mess, we discovered the reason for the tree's shallow roots. Some time in the past, someone had buried large chunks of concrete in the very spot we had placed the acacia, thus preventing its roots from growing deep into the ground. We started digging up the yard, finding more and more debris, and the pile got higher and higher. What on earth were we going to do with this stuff? After some consideration, I decided to try imitating the delightful stone walls one sees in New England or in the English countryside. We began stacking our "stones" along a path, and the result was surprising. We now have a beautiful, natural looking addition to our landscape. And it started with a storm.

Sometimes life brings us troubles. Sometimes it seems we have been defeated. But God takes notice when we are afflicted. He comforts us, encourages us, and raises us up, changing our ruined lives into something beautiful for His glory -- if only we will let Him. 

O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,

 behold, I will set your stones in antimony and lay your foundations with sapphires.

 I will make your pinnacles of agate, 

your gates of carbuncles,

 and all your wall of precious stones.

 Isaiah 54: 11-12 

(ESV)