Looking for the Lovely

Recently I traversed local roads, navigating the outer bands of breeze and rains that accompanied a hurricane. While the morning brought dark skies and fits of moisture, the afternoon winds began escorting out the majority of the precipitation and the transition to calmer skies began. While the sky was mostly filled with the storm’s remaining clouds, one gap revealed a brilliantly blue sky.

On the ground, it had seemed like a stormy day. Above the clouds, luminous sunshine and radiant sapphire prevailed.

Isn’t this true of our lives at times? Aren’t we sometimes so consumed by what’s around us that we forget to look beyond the clouds? Do we at times forget that our Heavenly Father is still there, as brilliant as ever, just outside of some of our darker circumstances?

With this in mind, I am working diligently to reframe my perspective. How can I look for the good, even when it seems unfathomable? Sometimes, in life’s impossibly difficult or gut-wrenching situations, it can feel almost outrageous to search for the silver lining.

Paul understood this. As he spent time in prison as the result of his ministry for Jesus, it’s hard to imagine the “good” in those conditions. But, yet, Paul had an unbelievably mature posture toward the earthly and the eternal. And, he understood that the way in which we view our surroundings can radically shape our todays and tomorrows.

In fact, Paul shared to his fellow believers in Philippi through Philippians 4:8 (NIV), “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

I was reminded of the intentionality of a reframed perspective during a recent hike. What my family found was so subtle, we almost missed it. A tree, like many others in a dense forest, was subject to a force of nature and split right next to the trail. The tree had been set aside, no longer bridging the path or leaning toward the passerby. However, what was carved in the side of the tree took me aback: someone had etched a smile into the bark.

The tree’s vibrancy had changed. But someone chose to continue to show beauty through the trunk left behind. And it left me thinking: what did I see in that moment? Did I see a tree in its brokenness, or did I see the joy it was still emulating after its plunge?

Sometimes, life causes us to tumble. But, will we stay down, or will we choose to do – and focus on – what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable?

I want to choose the perseverance of Paul. And, I pray we will each have the openness to his perspective to guide us through life’s hills and valleys, looking for the lovely along the way.