More from Carol Westerlund

All the Colors of Life

The Upper Room published my devotional “Something Good” recently on January 17, 2026. In it, I explain how I found that scraps of yarn with no apparent use can be stitched into something beautiful. And God will do so in our lives too if we hand over to God those things which appear to be of no value. In the Master’s hand, something new and beautiful is formed.

You could say handwork is a passion of mine. I like to choose my colors well. For a long time I seldom used the color black when I crocheted. After all, it was as dark as you could get and seemed depressing. But more recently I have come to realize that it actually can be quite a useful color alongside others. Because it is so dark, it provides a very effective contrast; it highlights other colors. Other colors become more beautiful with a dark background since you can see them even better.

So it is in our lives as well. Solomon advises in Ecclesiastes, “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other” (7:14, NIV). Not everything that God allows in our lives causes us to smile; there can be very painful circumstances as well. But don’t forget: that’s not the endpoint—it’s a contrast color.

And so we can rest in God, knowing that with the Lord Jesus all the colors of our lives have their purposes. God knows them intimately, for he created them. As David said, “Even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you” (Ps. 139:12).