I took this picture on a walk in my neighborhood down close to the road where just weeds grow. For many people, including me, I think of a thistle like this as a weed, a very sticky and possibly painful weed at that. As I looked at it I realized how intricate its design of straight lines and circles, variations of green, and the striking purple in the center. I found a beauty in this weed that I hadn't seen before.
As I was thinking about finding beauty the verse that came to mind was Matthew 7: 7-8: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened. In this verse Jesus is telling us to do the same thing. Seek beauty and you will find it. Photography is teaching me this. Sometimes you will find beauty in hard and unexpected places; places as sharp and prickly as this thistle. I want to find beauty in my life and it is the promise of Jesus that I will.