Surrounded by Good, Surrounded by Bad

The Phenology Project has been such a delight for me. I get to spend time in one of my favorite places, the Garden, taking solace in the beauty of God’s creation. To walk among the trees, to watch the rhythms of budding, flowering, and fruiting, is to be reminded that God is still writing beauty into the world.

But as I thought about this joy, I realized something deeper — the dark side of creation. Yes, God created all things. The world holds both light and shadow, beauty and brokenness. I am blessed to be surrounded by the good — trees, flowers, birdsong, the embrace of a peaceful place. Yet many are surrounded by things far different: hardship, violence, or emptiness.

A friend of mine once asked me in tears, “Why do bad things always happen to me?” I bit back the answer that came quickly: “Because you choose to be in bad places.” That may have been true on some level, but it wasn’t the whole truth, nor the right response.

The truth is that life in a fallen world means we all encounter the thorns alongside the roses. Some of us, by grace, find ourselves planted in fertile ground. Others, by circumstance or choices, find themselves in harsher soil. Jesus Himself said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).

I cannot explain why some seem to walk through more shadow than light. But I do know this: God is present in both places. He is with me among the blooming trees, and He is with my friend in the places she finds herself. And the call to me is not to judge why she is there, but to carry some of the fragrance of the Garden into her dark places.

So my prayer is this:

“Lord, keep me grateful for the beauty I see, but also mindful of those who see only brokenness. Help me not to condemn them for the soil they are in, but to carry Your light so that seeds of hope might grow there too.”

Because whether in sunlight or shadow, all of creation still belongs to Him.