The Sunrise through the Trees

I was up a little before 6 this morning, snuggling a boy who couldn't sleep due to a cough he's developed over the last few days. My stuffy head hadn't made it easy for me to sleep, either, so it was just as well. Sitting in my comfy chair in the living room, rocking and enjoying the quiet before a busy Sunday, I had the perfect view of the back door. When we first entered the dark room, the sky was still dark as well. It slowly lightened to a gray. Then, an orange tint started at the horizon and worked its way up, brightening to a vivid coral, back to orange and then to a lovely yellow before day fully took over. My picture doesn't do it justice, but then, none of our pictures really capture the full beauty of God's handiwork, do they?

As I sat and watched the show, I realized that I was looking at it through the neighbor's trees. If this were another time of year, I wouldn't be able to see it. The sun would be at a different angle, the trees would be leafed out and block more of the sky, etc. A lot of times, seeing trees in winter is just depressing. After all, they look more like naked sticks, reaching their empty arms to the sky, bare and empty of most life. But if they weren't bare, I would have missed out on a lot of the spectacular colors.
It's just another reminder that just because something doesn't seem to be lovely or the way we want it, it doesn't mean something good can't come from it. I am thankful God allowed me to see not only the beautiful sunrise, but also the lesson this morning. If you're not allowed to sleep another hour, I can't think of a much better way to spend it. Can you?