If you think that is beautiful, check this out …

by 0 Comments

There’s beauty in the desert.

No, I’m not crazy, there really is a great deal of beauty in the desert.

When I first moved to Arizona as a boy, I didn’t think that. Initially, all I saw was a lot of cactus and dirt. But after settling in and looking more closely, I discovered the desert not only has a “beauty of its own,” but real beauty anyone can see if they have eyes to see it.

Many don’t.

When I lived in Arizona, I saw two types of people: those who saw the beauty of the desert and loved it, and those who didn’t and hated it. There wasn’t much in between.

But having discovered the beauty of the desert, it was initially difficult for me to see the beauty in Northern California when I moved there. Yes, it’s true. Initially, I saw a lot of hills, and they were green! Those hills gave way to the wine country, or led to the redwoods, or over to the Pacific Ocean.

I adjusted.

I discovered beauty all over the place in Northern California. God seemed to have splurged on His handiwork there!

But then I moved to Hawaii.

By then, my eyes were better about seeing beauty at first blush, and it wasn’t difficult at all in this tropical haven. I remember taking a taxi to my temporary dwelling, dropping my bags and walking a couple blocks over to Waikiki Beach where I saw people from all over the world resting on the sand or playing in the Pacific. I turned left and saw towering in the distance the dormant Diamond Head volcano. The beauty was nearly breath-taking.

I couldn’t take a step without stumbling over beauty in that place!

As I have traveled, I have become better at seeing that God has splashed beauty everywhere. From draping the skies with colorful sunrises and sunsets, striping mountains with majestic hues, carpeting the earth with greens and golds and ambers, or rolling crystal clear waters onto white or black sandy beaches, His handiwork is everywhere.

But of all God’s work, I’ve discovered what He most enjoys slathering with beauty:

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago,” Ephesians 2:10.

God wants our lives to be a beautiful masterpiece that reveals Himself to others. Is your life being transformed into a living display of the handiwork of God?

Scotty