And what do I see?

The weather forecast was enough to make me want to get back in bed -- considerable cloudiness, 60 percent chance of rain, and 20 mile per hour winds.  I looked for my black sweater to wear in order to grieve properly.  Winter has come.

But when my husband was leaving for work and the sky was just beginning to brighten, I looked up and saw a clear blue sky with a pink blush.  And the bare trees cast their crazy black lace across the sky.

Even in winter
    and what looks so bleak and barren,
 the trees rejoice.

It is not that we should begrudgingly
 "look on the bright side of life"
       like someone a little too artificially cheerful in the morning,
but dwell on,
             abide in,
and grasp fully
                      the reality of Who God is.

O give thanks to the LORD,
               for He is good;
for His steadfast love endures forever.
                                  Psalm 118. 29

How I view God
         invades how I see everything.

This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice
           and be glad in it.

                             Psalm 118.24

Even if it rains.
Even in this.
LORD,
     help me to follow You
into Your day for me.
And know Your joy
     even in the midst
                     of the impossible.
Your deliverance
          may be right through this mess
that I would know You more,
    and that others would see You,
not what appears a dismal day
but
     even the trees pointing to You.