"There's Beauty in Every Swamp"

Here is a pastel painting that I recently did that I thought I'd share with you. I have just pulled out my pastels again and am really starting to work on improving my technique. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't! :)

After I finished this picture, I was standing there looking at it, and I began to see a different picture. I thought about how this picture reminded me of our lives.

There are times in our lives when all around us is swampy, sinking ground. We get discouraged, tired, and frustrated. But no matter where we are or how dark the “swamp” gets, we can always look up and see the sun (God), beaming encouragingly through the dark canopy of trees. If we take the time to look hard enough, we can see the direction the sun is, and use it to lead us out of the “swamp”.

God will always lead us through our trials in life. After God brings us through, we’ve only to look back and see that yes, it was a swampy area in our lives, but there is beauty in those trials that only God can bring. We don't need to concern ourselves about how difficult the trek was, or how dirty and bogged down we had become, but simply look at the beauty that now is. All because of that swamp God brought us through.