Some days it is very hard to see the beauty in what is going on around me. People close to me are declining in health, struggling with addictions and mental illness, and so much conflict everywhere it can be exhausting. I often feel overwhelmed, sad and anxious, as I try to deal with circumstances and compounded grief. Seeing a newborn baby, a beautiful blue sky and the leaves changing bring light into my world. It is easy to find the blessings in the amazing creation and indescribable blessings.

The blessing and beauty of growth though is harder for me to sit with. Often the growth and the character traits I desire come out of the hardships of life. Not the perceived hardships where I am comparing myself to others, and feel deprived because I don’t have what I want, but the hardships where pain is unbearable, whether emotional or physical, or the moments where I feel like I am sitting still and powerless to help others or myself in human suffering.

The human story is a combination of the environmental beauty and the beauty within all of us. It is a story where our paths connect and create something new and more profound than our individual stories. We see our common struggles and joys, and give each other hope and love. We can find the blessings in our physical environment of the beauty created by others, as well as the beauty created by a God that loves us. Even in the middle of the brokenness and pollution of our city, there is a God that is greater and exists in the air we breathe and the water that brings life. May I hold on to Life and Love. Elissa