The Zen Garden serves as a retaining basin during monsoon season, but throughout the rest of the year, it is a large, beautiful rock garden full of foliage, chirping birds, and flowering bushes, and on the edge, above the crate, looms a giant shade tree that glows when the sun hits it just right.
A few days ago, I sat upon the crate, leaning against the building with my eyes shut, just beyond the shade of the tree, that I might soak up every bit of the sun I could. I noticed a change in the lighting, and opened my eyes, momentarily confused about why it had gotten darker, as all around there were brilliant blue skies. I looked to see the tiniest of clouds in front of the sun, and in a few more moments, it had passed, and the sun shown with great brilliance again.
I was struck at how that small act of nature was entirely applicable to my life. So often, as I endure a trial, it seems to be the only thing I see and blocks out the beauty and light all around me and I forget all of the amazing things that have come before that trial and which I know will come after. I struggle to step back and see the greater perspective. I let that tiny little cloud darken my demeanor, my faith, and my soul.
How much better would I endure my trials if I saw the little cloud for what it was-just that, a little cloud. Something that was going to pass and would help me better appreciate the sun when it shone upon me once again. It helped me so much better appreciate the Lord's words when he said, "My son (or daughter), peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;"
I hope that I can keep that day in the Zen Garden with me as I continue to pass through the adversity and afflictions of life. I hope I can better keep my future trials in perspective and remember that whether it be a tiny, fleeting cloud or an enduring black storm, that the sun will shine again, and I will only notice and appreciate it more than I did before.
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