The most beautiful flowers often grow in the cracks.

Some of the most beautiful flowers and trees have been those that grew out of a crack in a rock or a crevasse on the side of a cliff. I don’t know if I thought they were beautiful on their own or if I thought they were beautiful because of the place where they were found. But there is no denying that their beauty impacted me because it stood in contrast to the harsh reality of its’ surroundings. God often reveals His presence and beauty when times seem harsh and foreboding. A friend, holding you when it appears that nobody cares. A child, giving a hug just because you came near. A gift at just the right time when you were filled with despair. A pat on the back when you thought nobody was watching. I have seen an even more extraordinary beauty, and this is one of the greatest wonders I have ever beheld, a life that has been broken so often that there are more flaws than you can count, returning to God. The beauty in that picture is a reminder of what God can do. God can take the most broken life you have ever seen and transform it into one that glorifies Him, and if God can do that with the utterly broken, what does He want to do with your life today? In Him J. Tom Washburn