June 20

As the sun began to dip below the hills in the distance, I made a late-in-the-game decision to trot up to the deck to watch it disappear into the clouds. 

I hadn't been up the hill without shoes for quite some time, so I was rather dismayed to find --in my "hurry up or you'll miss it" state of mind-- that several of the steps had been overtaken by dry and very prickly weeds. The kind you absolutely cannot step on because, well, ouch. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

Anyway, I ouched my way to the top, took in the scene (which was indeed quite lovely) and then turned to look at what I'd had to overcome to get there. 

And of course, it made me think. We so often, in this human life we lead, have to work through difficult and often painful obstacles to get to "good" places. New jobs, new relationships, new homes all involve work and, in many cases, some degree of discomfort. 

So although I didn't love picking those spiky little balls from my skin, I'm grateful for the reminder that beautiful things can arise from difficult circumstances.