Yesterday morning I took a lovely hike with my family. We like to try new experiences so this summer we landed in Arizona….the desert…so what better activity for our first full day than a morning hike through the #Sonoran Desert. We hear a lot about the desert; that dry, desolate place with little water, where nothing thrives. You hear a lot of similarity drawn between the desert and challenges in life but as we hiked there was so much beauty even in the dusty desert.
The desert is just a different type of environment where we sometimes have to learn to do things differently or acclimate to the different environment but a desert isn’t a barren wasteland.
I was amazed by the beautiful yellow flowers starting to bud and bloom amidst this dry, almost gray round prickly cactus. My sons were amazed at the beautiful green trees that were green from the base up through every branch and thin “leaves.” Not green from mold either….but from life. The trees seem to have adapted to the environment and learned to thrive where they are. Talk about blooming where you are planted.
Wow, so many nuggets, so much #wisdom, so many aha moments all from a morning hike through the desert.
My oldest son remarked that they make the desert seem so much more barren in movies than in reality. I think we also make the desert time of our lives seem so much more barren then it really is. There is usually beauty, blossoming and growth right there if we only allow ourselves to see it it. If we focus less on the dirt and allow ourselves to focus on another aspect of the desert we might find opportunity, a new perspective or a lesson learned that we need to harness before we leave the desert.
Maybe like the all-green tree, there is an adaptation that we need to learn that will strengthen our ability to survive in desert times and allow us to thrive when we really are in the right situation or environment.
We found so much wondrous beauty in the desert — so many reasons to smile and marvel. Even in life, our desert times have wondrous beauty “sticking” out from different angles. While it may seem dry, hopefully we have stored up enough water to carry us through so that we can grow even in those times.
Take a few lessons from the desert. See the #beauty in your desert place. Thrive wherever you are planted. Find something beautiful in your wake. Adapt where you must and when you must but continue blooming, growing and becoming more beautiful even in that place. #growthmindset #Godapplied #graceinthemoment #christianblogger
Be encouraged. Be blessed. Keep moving.
Latoya
God Applied 
Nice clicks!