Never underestimate the power of unexpected beauty to lift your mood and change your day!
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Ephesians 3:20 NIV

A Grumpty Start to My Morning
“Want to go for a walk?” I asked everyone in the living room.
“What’s the temperature,” Pedro asked.
“Seventeen below,” I answered.
He snorted. “I’ll pass.”
“Me, too,” my daughter said.
“Same,” my son-in-law said.
I bundled up and headed outside alone. A pale blue sky and weak sunlight lit the noon-day sky. “Why would anyone want to waste precious daylight hours sitting inside?” I thought.
My rational self argued with my grumpy self. “Rational people stay inside when the thermometer drops below zero.”
Although the scant hours of sunlight in Alaska in December weren’t unexpected, knowing about them and experiencing them didn’t compare.
As I tromped through the deeper snow next to the driveway, I glanced over at the dead rosebushes. Only cheery red rosehips remained of the fragrant wild blooms from the summer. I stepped closer and bent down to see what caught my eye.
Ice crystals formed delicate wings of ice around the berries. I ran back inside and got my camera. My part of Arizona gets snow occasionally, and frost rarely. I couldn’t pass up this unexpected opportunity to photograph the beauty.
After taking dozens of photos of the rose hips, I wandered their yard in search of other unexpected pairings of beauty and mundane. The metal on the bed of their trailer had long wisps of hoarfrost sprouting from the open weave. Stalks of dried grasses sported frost flowers along their stems.
I forgot my earlier grumpy-self-rational-self argument and smiled with delight at each new pairing.
Where Does Hoarfrost Come From?
According to the American Meteorological Society, hoarfrost forms when hoar crystals deposit themselves on freezing objects. The freezing objects usually have a small diameter (such as dried grass stems, tree branches, or wire in a fence). Hoarfrost forms when “air with a dewpoint below freezing is brought to saturation by cooling.”
Weather.com explains the process as water vapor molecules touching subfreezing objects and jumping from a gaseous state (water vapor) to a solid state (hoarfrost).
Whatever the case, the unexpected beauty caused my grumpy mood to jump to a happy mood. The unexpected gift of beauty soothed my ruffled feathers and made me realize how God delights in catching our attention with his beauty.
And once I catch a glimpse of his beauty, I realize my grumpiness has no legs to stand on. After lunch, it warmed up enough for everyone else to join me for a walk through the sparkling world.
Have you ever had unexpected beauty change your mood?

While living in the mountains of northwest NC for 30 years we experienced this beautiful frost every winter. It always amazed me how God could weave such delicacies out of hard freezing ‘air’.
Susan+Shipe recently posted…Write 28 Days – 2022
Lucky you! I’ve seen it once in Arizona (and it was beautiful).
Anita Ojeda recently posted…How Can a Sturdy Little Bird Survive Rapidly Changing Conditions?
I remember my grandmother marveling at horror frost one winter. We spent a long time trying to find objects in the design (similar to pictures in the clouds.
That must have been fun! And what a cool memory to have with your grandmother!
Anita Ojeda recently posted…Five Ways Owls Are Created for Survival in a Dark World
I love this, Anita. You’re right that a moment of beauty can shock us into a different direction. May I be looking for beautiful things around me today!
Lisa notes recently posted…They Don’t Have to Understand {Mantra 24}
I’m in the habit of looking out the window for gorgeous sunrises and sunsets to start brewing.
Anita Ojeda recently posted…Sweet, Inspirational Regency Romance New Releases
That is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing. Again I wishi could be walking with you
That would be so much fun!
Anita Ojeda recently posted…Five Ways Owls Are Created for Survival in a Dark World
Exploring with God is such a delight! Thank you for sharing your experience and capturing the beauty with your camera. This is so true, “God delights in catching our attention with His beauty.”
Lisa Blair recently posted…Unexpected Gifts and Blessings
Exactly! I’m always astonished at the number of people who aren’t walking around gazing at all the beauty!
Anita Ojeda recently posted…How Can a Sturdy Little Bird Survive Rapidly Changing Conditions?
17 below? Why not!
That’s where the breath-taking magic begins! And your story shows us how and why, Anita.
Haha! I may be a little odd in my quest to capture God’s beauty!
Anita Ojeda recently posted…Sweet, Inspirational Regency Romance New Releases
What beautiful photos! I’ve not often seen hoarfrost, but I’ve had that experience with other kinds of beauty. It’s like a little gift from God.
Barbara Harper recently posted…February Reflections
Thank you! I love chronicaling God’s little gifts of beauty.
Anita Ojeda recently posted…Sweet, Inspirational Regency Romance New Releases
I love your unexpected beauty. What a lovely and special reminder of God’s gifts to us. A few weeks back right before going to bed I looked at my weather app, and it said it was snowing. So my husband and I opened the door to the awe of unexpected beautiful snowfall.
Aww! I love unexpected snowfall!
Anita Ojeda recently posted…SCH 088 Why You Need to Take Care of the Past Before You Can Have a Future