Oceans in the Desert

By Kathi Pelton

I wrote this a while ago— but it’s a wonderful reminder from God to us today. May you be blessed by this…

This morning I woke up very early and asked our Alexa to play soft jazz while I made my coffee. As I stood in our dimly lit kitchen with the sound of coffee dripping, Louie Armstrong’s mesmerizing voice began to sing, “What A Wonderful World.”

It was like a breath of fresh air from days gone by, when our world was simpler (or at least appeared to be simpler). It was like a deep drink of comfort and permission granted from days gone by to stop and behold beauty. I stopped what I was doing and leaned against our kitchen island, just letting sound of his voice and the simple lyrics wash over me. Here are the words to the beloved old song,

I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Saying, “How do you do?”
They’re really saying
“I love you”

I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more
Than I’ll never know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Suddenly I thought to myself, “Have these things changed? Are trees still green, do roses still bloom, is the sky still blue, are clouds still white, does the moon still light the night sky, do rainbows still appear, do babies still cry and do people still say, ‘I love you’?”

Yes, all of these things are still true. Creation still declares his goodness and his beauty.

Though much of mankind has turned to other gods, left God’s ways and tyranny has gripped nations– there is still beauty to behold. I think that sometimes we feel as if it is a betrayal to those suffering to stop and gaze on beauty but it is so good for your soul. It is good for the suffering soul. There will always be suffering, as well as times to grieve but we must not forget to look upon the beauty of an evergreen tree or a desert cactus that blooms with colorful splendor. We must not forget to stop and watch a sunrise or sunset and let it’s beauty take our breath away. We must not stop looking for rainbows or finding joy in the faces or touch of the ones we love. You have permission to take time to get lost in the gratitude of the things he has created for our pleasure.

You have permission to find beauty and to let it wash over your soul like a healing balm. You will still weep with those who weep, with nations that are suffering but it is good to see that beyond the news headlines there is still a wonderful world to behold.

This isn’t a prophetic message, it’s just a note from my heart to yours to stop and smell the roses once again. Create beauty and gaze upon beauty– it is so good for your soul. Maybe even turn on Louie Armstrong’s song, “What A Wonderful World” and just lean back and remember that God has given us a wonderful world that reveals his beauty.

I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:13-14

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