Contrasts
The duller the grays, the brighter the highlights appear, so much more vivid and impactful. Not the brightly painted canvas, but the one painted gray with a burst of color, will strike the viewer as a burst of light.
The darker the night, the more radiant the day.
The colder the winter, the more you relish that Springtime melt.
The more painful an experience of suffering, the more fully you appreciate the peace and healing that follows.
Perhaps so too the more of our life that is colored dull by hardship makes the masterpiece that is the whole of our life shine when colored by the brightness of faith. There is no saint who does not suffer.