God’s mercies are new every day and happen in the most unexpected ways. Early one morning, I stepped out of my car at work and caught my breath. A brilliant yellow-orange sun was just glowing over the horizon. “How beautiful,” I whispered to myself as I reached for my phone to take a photo to share on Instagram. Then I saw the utility poles, wires, and assortment of trucks and vans in the parking lot.  Hmmm, I could crop out some of the parking lot, but one utility pole was bisecting the sun, and its ugly wires stretched across the sky. I lowered my phone and thought irritably, those stupid poles and wires are spoiling a perfect photo.

The sunrise is still beautiful. It’s your perspective that’s spoiling it comes to a soft voice from within.

Is that true??? Am I looking for perfection to see beauty to enjoy whatever is in front of me? How often do I do that with myself, others, and my life?

         But, come on… is there beauty to behold in utility poles and wires??? I never even noticed them before today. I thought about the question and realized that I’d visited some impoverished countries where such infrastructure would probably be seen as beautiful. I guess I should be grateful for those beauties then; I chuckled softly to myself as I thought, If I take them for granted, what else do I take for granted?

         So, I picked up my phone again, took a photo of the sunrise, utility poles, wires, trucks, and vans, and smiled.

Of course, I didn’t share the photo on Instagram because, on social media, the photo must be perfect. I think of the countless images I have dismissed with the touch of a button for not being perfect and the numerous attempts to make it so. And then I thought, when I approach life with that same perspective, how many moments do I dismiss that I could have enjoyed instead? So I keep that photo of a parking lot sunrise to remind me that God’s mercies are new every day and happen in the most unexpected ways, and that is an eternal source of hope.

Shared by Patricia Wu