Beauty Among The Thorns
When my oldest daughter married and moved to West Texas, I worried about how a young lady born and bred in Indiana would fare in an area that was essentially a desert. Leaving a state full of lakes, streams, trees, and fruit and vegetable crops for a world of cactus and yucca seemed to be quite an adjustment. When my daughter and her husband showed us a lot they were buying high on a butte, I worried even more. They were miles from town and surrounded by nothing but thorn covered plants, mesquite trees, and bare rock and dirt.
Our first visit after they built their new house was during a time when they had been blessed with a great deal of rain. I was amazed at the transformation that had taken place in the landscape. Everything was green and most things were blooming. Even the obnoxious cactus I always managed to get scratched by was covered with beautiful flowers--one of which is on our cover for this month.
When you study the design of desert plants and animals, you find they have a beauty all their own, and they radiate the wisdom of the creator in their design. Sometimes you have to look among the thorns to see it, but there is always a testimony to God's widsom and design in the world around us. --John N. Clayton
Back to Contents Does God Exist?, MayJun99.