When things get ugly.

Look for the beauty marks. Apart from Christ, I'm a huge pessimist. Can you believe that? On this very blog, I often write about seeing good come from bad; I have often counseled others to look on the bright side and stay there. But, without GRACE, I wouldn't be able to do that. There's SO much bad in this world that I could easily be an unhappy, sulking, pity-party throwing soul - every. darn. day. My glass wouldn't only be half-empty, it would be thrown across the room in disgust. Yeah, I just said that. The older we get, the more difficult times seem to appear before us. Just when we think we've had our fill, and we've seen our share, it seems that something comes up again. Doesn't it? As someone who has a history of anxiety, I have to make a conscious effort NOT to fall into a defeating pattern of anxiety and doubt when these things happen around me, but to remember that God who's faithful when everything is right, is the very same God who is faithful when difficult times abound. Satan is always at work, believing friends. He wants to see us down and discouraged, but we must put on the full armor of God and fight back.

By GRACE, though, we can look for the beauty mark in each situation. We can look for the possibility of redemption for people involved or close by. I LOVE a good redemption story, don't you? We can look for positive situations that evolved out of bad ones; We can look for signs of roadblocks and u-turns founded by grace that may not have been there if the situation happened another way.

You and I, believing friends, have to be willing to see that God is good, even when we are uncomfortable with His plan. We have to be willing to see that God's mighty hand is at work in even the most desperate and trying situations. We must have hope. He can turn anything around and make it beautiful. Most importantly, He will triumph over all.

This song has been on my heart lately and I truly believe the words it says. He makes beautiful things out of dust, indeed. I pray you believe that, too.

PS. The tortilla soup rocked. That is all.