Too Much Sunshine Makes a Desert
A good life is not one without hard days. It is one in which both joy and adversity help us grow.
Waiting for the Weather to Change
One of the things I love about living in Utah is the variety of the seasons.
Fall is my favorite.
Winter can feel magical around Christmas.
Snow-covered trees, city lights, and hot chocolate all seem to belong together.
But once Christmas is over, I am usually ready for winter to leave.
I want sunshine.
Then summer arrives, the temperatures climb, and before long people start saying:
“It’s too hot.”
We wanted the sun.
We just did not want quite so much of it.
That seems to be a pattern in life.
Even good things can become harmful when we expect them constantly, endlessly, and without balance.
The Dream of Endless Pleasure
As a child, I had a hard time understanding why too much pleasure could ever be a problem.
Wasn’t life supposed to be fun?
How could there be too much candy, ice cream, playtime, or entertainment?
Then I watched Pinocchio and saw the boys arrive at Pleasure Island.
It looked like every child’s dream.
There were rides, food, games, freedom, and no apparent rules.
Someone invited the boys to eat as much as they wanted and do whatever they pleased.
At first, it looked like paradise.
Then the boys began turning into donkeys.
That scene was terrifying to me as a child, but the lesson became clearer with time.
Pleasure Island was not merely a warning about amusement parks.
It was a warning about what endless indulgence can cause us to become.
Pleasure without limits does not always create happiness.
Sometimes it weakens discipline, gratitude, wisdom, and self-control.
Can There Be Too Much Sunshine?
A line from a country song captures this principle perfectly:
“Sunshine all the time just makes a desert.”
At first, that sounds strange.
How could sunshine be bad?
But drive through Death Valley and the answer becomes obvious.
It is known for extreme heat and dryness.
Very little grows because there is not enough water.
Plants need sunlight.
But they also need rain.
Too much darkness can harm them.
Too much sunshine can harm them too.
Growth requires both.
That pattern is found throughout creation—and throughout our lives.
We Need More Than Good Days
Most of us would gladly choose a life filled with:
comfort
ease
success
happiness
answered prayers
pleasant relationships
predictable outcomes
But if everything were always easy, we might never develop the qualities that difficulty demands.
Comfort rarely forces us to change.
Ease does not always reveal our weaknesses.
Success alone may not teach humility.
We often grow most when life interrupts what we wanted and asks something more from us.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught:
“Sometimes our needed growth is achieved better by suffering and adversity than by comfort and tranquility.”
That is not the message we naturally want.
But it is often the one experience confirms.
Comfort Can Keep Us Still
When I am comfortable, the last thing I usually want to do is move.
I want to remain exactly where I am.
That is one of comfort’s dangers.
Comfort can become apathy.
Apathy can become stagnation.
And stagnation can quietly become mediocrity.
Difficulty creates movement.
It forces us to reconsider, adapt, pray, ask for help, and discover strength we might never have used otherwise.
The hard day may be painful.
But it may also be doing something within us that an easy day could not.
The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Growing up, my father often read us Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
Everything seemed to go wrong for Alexander.
He woke up with gum in his hair.
He did not get the prize he wanted.
His best friend changed the friendship ranking.
The store did not have the shoes he liked.
He got in trouble.
Dinner was disappointing.
Bath time went badly.
Even bedtime felt unfair.
His solution was simple:
He wanted to move to Australia.
At the end of the day, his mother reminded him:
“Some days are like that. Even in Australia.”
That might be one of the most comforting truths we can learn.
Bad days are not proof that we are in the wrong place.
They are not proof that our entire life is falling apart.
Sometimes a bad day is simply a bad day.
And bad days happen everywhere.
Stop Trying to Escape Every Storm
When discomfort arrives, our first instinct is often to escape.
We think:
I need a different job.
I need a different relationship.
I need a different home.
I need a different city.
I need an easier path.
I need to get away from all of this.
Sometimes change is necessary.
Some situations are unhealthy or unsafe and should not be endured indefinitely.
But not every difficult moment is a signal to run.
Sometimes the lesson is not to escape the rain.
It is to learn how to walk through it.
If we leave every situation the moment discomfort appears, we may keep moving without ever developing the strength the struggle was offering us.
Pain Is Not Automatically Pointless
No one wants pain.
But pain often reveals what comfort conceals.
It may show us:
where we need to heal
what we need to change
whom we truly trust
what matters most
where we have become dependent
what strength God has placed within us
Pain is not always good.
But God can still bring good from it.
That distinction matters.
We do not have to celebrate every painful experience.
We can still believe that the experience may eventually contribute to growth, wisdom, compassion, and faith.
You Cannot Have a Rainbow Without Rain
We often use the image of a rainbow because it reminds us that beauty can follow a storm.
But a rainbow requires both light and water.
Sunshine alone cannot create it.
Rain alone cannot create it.
The beauty appears when both are present.
Our lives often work the same way.
Joy teaches us gratitude.
Pain teaches us depth.
Success develops confidence.
Failure can develop humility.
Comfort gives us rest.
Adversity gives us strength.
We need both kinds of experiences to become whole.
Jesus Christ Did Not Promise Constant Sunshine
Jesus Christ never promised that discipleship would eliminate storms.
He promised something better:
His presence within them.
He calmed storms.
But He also strengthened people to endure storms that did not immediately disappear.
He wept with those who grieved.
He walked with those who struggled.
He taught that sorrow would come, but that sorrow would not have the final word.
Following Christ does not mean every day will be easy.
It means no difficult day has to be faced alone.
The Rain Is Not Forever
When the rain lasts longer than expected, it can feel permanent.
One difficult day becomes a difficult week.
A difficult week becomes a difficult season.
Eventually, we may forget what sunshine felt like.
But seasons change.
The same world that produces storms also produces clear skies.
The same God who allows growth through hardship also gives rest, relief, joy, and renewal.
Rain is part of the pattern.
It is not the entire pattern.
The sun will return.
And when it does, we may appreciate its warmth more because we remember what it felt like to wait for it.
Anchoring Quote
“Sometimes our needed growth is achieved better by suffering and adversity than by comfort and tranquility.” — Dallin H. Oaks
Practical Reflection
Consider these questions:
Am I interpreting a bad day as a bad life?
What am I learning in this season that comfort could not teach me?
Am I trying to escape a storm that may require patience instead?
Have I allowed constant comfort to make me passive?
How has a past hardship helped me grow?
Do I believe the sun will return, even if I cannot currently see it?
A difficult day is not a final verdict.
It is one part of a much larger season.
Today’s Daily Challenge
When something goes wrong today, pause before reacting.
Say to yourself:
“Some days are like this—even in Australia.”
Then ask:
What can I learn from this?
What strength can I practice?
What is still good today?
What is one faithful step I can take?
Do not demand that the rain stop immediately.
Look for what it may be helping to grow.
Closing
We all want sunshine.
We want happiness, comfort, success, and peace.
Those things are good.
But sunshine all the time creates a desert.
Without rain, roots remain shallow.
Growth slows.
Life dries out.
The rainy days are not always pleasant, but they are often necessary.
They soften the ground.
They strengthen the roots.
They prepare life for growth that sunshine alone could never produce.
So enjoy the sun when it shines.
Rest in the warmth.
Be grateful for the good days.
But when the clouds gather, do not assume something has gone terribly wrong.
Some days are simply hard.
Some seasons bring rain.
And some of the most important growth of your life may be happening beneath the surface while the sky remains dark.
The rain will not last forever.
The sun will return.
And together, both will help you become something stronger, deeper, and more beautiful than endless sunshine ever could.
