Nature's Beauty

My husband's favorite bush in our yard. We first moved to the desert SW 3 years ago from Colorado. My husband had told me stories of his days spent here long ago (I do mean long ago) as a young Army soldier. He was so enamored at coming back to this part of the country that, well, quite frankly, what could a dutiful wife do, but follow her man. I mean, after 31 years of following, it was just natural.

Then, upon my arrival, I was so stunned at what my hubby considered beauty that I just knew he must have lost his mind while he had been deployed that previous year. I remember thinking, God was surely punishing me for something or had an odd sense of humor. It all seemed so colorless, desolate and bleak to me at the time, and of course, I came during the "windy" season and precious does not like her hair messed up in the wind. There were times I just new the wind was going to cause the house to implode. Ok, a slight exageration, but you get my point.

After six months of whining I finally settled into our new home with a renewed sense of purpose. If God wanted us here, then there had to be a plan and I needed to stop my whining and get on with it. Once I started letting go of my preconceived notion of nature's beauty, I was able to open my eyes and see that the desert can be a wonderful place. Why DID people love it here so much anyway?

First of all, we certainly didn't need those heavy winter coats any more and throw away those snow shovels. Where else can you have near perfect weather? Ok, the summers do get hot, but after getting through that first summer, I realized, it wasn't so bad afterall. You learn to get up early, get your shopping done and get home before the temperature rises.

Now here just over 3 years, we have found our blessings have increased over and over. We've found the most wonderful church and christian friends and discovered all the people to be open and welcoming. We've also found the beauty in the desert itself. It wasn't until recently that I personally realized just how much I do love it here. When I sent some photos to a friend in Wisconsin and she commented on how brown it was here and I found a need to defend our turf, I knew that God had truly changed my thinking. My response was that it wasn't always brown here. We have our monsoon season for sure (in the middle of it now), but when the desert blooms in the Spring it is the most wonderful thing to see. Color is everywhere!! White, yellow, lavendars, greens; it's all there if you just let yourself see it.

I'm thankful that I opened my eyes to the beauty of the desert. The beauty that my husband saw all those years ago and still does today. The beauty of knowing that not everything beautiful is green and the beauty of a more casual lifestyle. Today, I feel as if we have been here forever and belong here just as long.

Thanks, honey for convincing me to follow you once again!!