Sat on the porch swing today watching all the beautiful crimson cardinals on the feeders. I always feel Chief’s presence with the cardinals. The females, dressed in their fawn brown beauty, were flitting around the feeders, too. The wind chimes were singing along with the birds’ symphony in the cool breeze. I watched the rain clouds dressed in their shades of purple and gray bubble up and roll up across the horizon. The wind pushed them all away before they could empty their rain.

It got too cool on the porch and I was too lazy to put on a sweater so I pondered in the lady den and watched tv this afternoon. Watched an enthralling movie on Netflix titled Forgotten Love. Made me cry several times. The movie chronicles a once respected noble doctor who has lost his family and his memory. He suffers amnesia for 15 years, wandering around the countryside with the reputation of being a healer. He’s reunited with someone from his forgotten past and his former life is revealed. The movie has great music, too. But you might need some Kleenex before the movie ends! I love to watch a movie with depth that evokes emotion.

Walked Penelope at dusk so I could see the sun lay her head down tonight. She kissed the day goodnight on a glorious sunset of blues and whites and purples and pale pinks, all layered perfectly on the horizon. Father Sky hasn’t pulled the clouds away yet to pin the stars and moon on the sky canopy. He’s had to work hard with these overcast skies.

I love the night sky. I watch for Father Sky to pin the stars and hang his moon in the purple canopy of the darkness. When I gaze up at the night sky I feel how tiny we are in the universe. I sometimes think of the wise men following the bright star to kneel by baby Jesus. There are beauty and hope in the night sky. I marvel that the stars and moon always shine but are hidden by the sun’s bright light. The daytime sky would be black like night and the sun bright like a spotlight if the Earth had no atmosphere. I never even thought about the stars always shining even in the day’s light. Don’t know where I thought they were.

I’m comforted knowing the day’s sky will follow the night’s sky. I love the sky in the daytime, too. Each day Mother Nature and Father Sky compare notes and decided how to color the day. They get down to business with God’s permission and paint the heavens above us. Every day is different and I love the wonder of that. I love the bright azure blue of the fall sky when its full of bleached white clouds. I love to watch the thunder clouds billow up in their angry purples and blues and overflow with rain. When we feel the wind of a storm, maybe we are feeling the sky brush across our cheeks.

The color of the sky and the color of the clouds in our lives is temporary. Our lives are like the sky but the sky doesn’t have just one color. No matter how blue our skies are we know the dark clouds will come. We weather these storms and look for rainbows on the horizon. We need storms to billow and boil up in our calm blue skies to help us appreciate our blessings. Clouds color our experiences in life.

When the sky is exceptional in its beauty, maybe God is talking to us, painting the sky with his love. When he sends the frightful storms, we know when they pass, he will light the day with the warm sun and send a rainbow to dress the horizon.

“After every storm the sun will smile; for every problem there is a solution, and the soul’s indefeasible duty is to be of good cheer,” — William R. Alger