Seeing the Good

Adelyn frowned at the TV. Wind was whipping around in the news video being shown. She trembled as the wind knocked a tree into a house. The reporter on the TV didn't sound scared, but Adelyn didn't like what she was seeing."Oh no…" Adelyn covered her eyes as the reporter moved from talking about the tornado to talking about a robbery."Adelyn!" Her grandpa sounded startled. "I didn't know you were in here." She heard the creak of his recliner.Adelyn pulled her hands down from her face and looked at the TV. It was now blank. She let out a relieved breath.Grandpa nodded toward the door. "We don't need to watch that. Let's go outside and focus on something good."Adelyn stepped out into the yard, smiling when Grandpa had her stop to smell his favorite rosebush. Everything seemed happier away from the TV."Our neighbors brought home a new baby," Grandpa said. "He looks as small as you when you were born." He pointed down the street. "People have been coming and going at their house, bringing them food and gifts."Grandpa pointed out a bed of marigolds. "I always thought those looked like little cheery suns.""They do." Adelyn smiled again."I want you to remember something." Grandpa crouched down to pet the neighbor's dog that had run into their yard. "All that stuff you see on TV, all that dark stuff…even as that's going on, there are good things happening too. We shouldn't just focus on the bad and ignore the good.""But why do they show all that?" asked Adelyn. "Why do you watch it?""I like to know what's going on," Grandpa said. "I want to know how I can pray for others who are hurting. But I don't get so caught up in it that I forget God is still good and that He's always blessing us. We need to see the beauty in the world and not just the bad. We need to remember that Jesus loves us and that He died and rose again to save the world. We need to trust that God is working out His plan to make everything right one day." He waved his arms around. "All of this--nature and the people living around me--they remind me that God is good."-Emily Acker