Daily I praised God for the beauty of Autumn. The maple tree outside my window was like a lamp shining into the darkened room. Everywhere I looked, the glory of Autumn shouted for my attention. I took pictures and mentally tried to memorize the different shades of red, orange, yellow, brown and green. Sometimes, it took my breath away.
I noticed the air getting nippier and the birds are flocking to our feeders. Winter is on its way.
Then, with one storm, the leaves were blasted away. This is the same tree as at the beginning, but now this is the view from my window.
Sometimes, when life seems most lovely, we can encounter a storm that rips the beauty right out of our lives. The shock is enormous and we feel bare and stripped of life's joys. That is the time to remember that though a tree looks dead after a storm, it is very much in the process of becoming an even more beautiful tree in the Spring. So it is with any storms that come into our lives--God is doing something unseen that will cause us to be more productive and more lovely after a while. Take heart, He is the Master Artist and we can trust Him with the worst storms of our lives.
