With our recent move, my husband, Eddy, and I have come full circle.  We began our marriage in an apartment and, after many years of home ownership, we are once again apartment dwellers.      

Directly behind our building is a nicely paved walking trail. It was late Fall when we moved in and leafless trees didn’t make for the greatest scenery.  As a further distraction, either side of the pathway is littered with dead, fallen trees which seem to accent the absence of color and beauty.

As a photographer, I have learned that during the winter months, you have to search harder for subject matter.  A few days ago, I set off on the walking trail with camera in hand to look closer, past the drabness to capture something of beauty.

As you can see from these pictures, there was color and even a rock turned into a dining table for a squirrel. There it was. Life and beauty.  Have you ever felt as though your life was stuck in the lackluster months of winter? My hand is up! I know I have. The seasons outside my window were changing but my life felt stuck in a never-ending, lifeless winter.

God chronicles this so beautifully in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 beginning with, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” God uses whatever season we are in to mold and shape us into His likeness. After years of fighting the seasons to no avail, I have learned to embrace each one, all the while looking closer for what God intends for me to  and see and learn.

There is the beauty of His constant presence and love in the pain.  There are the sweet whispers of encouragement in His word. There is a wealth greater than gold in the lessons learned and maturity gained that takes my mind off the circumstances of my season and sets my focus on Him.

As a camera requires focus for the best picture, our lives require focus for the best outcome. We have a choice. Either we look solely at the dead trees littering our landscape or we intentionally focus on the beauty of the blessings we walk through every day.

In whatever season you find your life, challenge yourself to look closer, to see God all around you…by your side, on your side. See the beauty you have looked past. Ask Him to open your eyes.  To God Be the Glory!