Look for the Stars

A newly married woman insisted on going to the California desert so she could be near her soldier husband. The only place the couple could find to live was a rundown shack near an Indian village. The daytime heat was unbearable-105 degrees in the shade. The dry wind blew constantly, covering everything with dust. None of the Indians spoke English. The young wife was miserable.

Then she learned that her husband was going deeper into the desert for 2 weeks. So she wrote her mother and asked if she could come home. In her mother's reply were these words: "Two men looked through prison bars; one saw mud, the other saw stars." As the woman read those lines over and over, she decided to change. She would look for the stars.

She set out to make friends with the Indians. When they saw her genuine interest, they taught her weaving and pottery. She learned their culture. Then she began to study the desert itself-its cacti, Joshua trees, and seashells left behind by the sands of an ocean floor. Not only did she survive, she became known as an expert on the area and later published a book about it.

Are you in an unbearable, inescapable situation? Do you have a negative attitude? Like Joseph or this wife, you can change.

Look at the situation positively and make the best of it with the help of God. Who knows? You might end up writing a book.