Drove into the most glorious sky on the way home from Peachtree City this morning. I felt like I was driving the road to heaven. The sky was filled with rolling clouds, bleached white on their tops, lightly washed purple on the bottoms, rolled up like Mother Nature was wringing the shades of color out of them. The horizon was layered first with light purple, then the clouds thinned out and I could see brush strokes in light turquoise on the horizon. Kept looking ahead and watched the morning sky burst through the clouds’ layers in vivid azure blue. Never seen turquoise on the horizon except during sunset. It’s like the sky was dressed up for professional photographs, wearing her best pageant gown, her smile kissed by the sun. The colors were wondrous. Was so memorized by the sky I missed a turn and had to backtrack.

The sky has an endless freedom that stretches forever yet it ties all of us to the ground as we explore its beauty. I think the sky symbolizes eternity. Our lives are like the sky, too, sometimes clear and blue, sometimes dark and stormy. But our lives are always full of God’s sunshine of love. And don’t forget the rainbows of peace and hope that come after the storms.

Tooted the car horn when I rode by Shady Oaks trailer park this morning on the way home. When I told Stew that he replied, “Did you read their new slogan? If old age doesn’t get you, the tornadoes will!” That boy should be writing jokes for a living. I might need to go on and get a room at Shady Oaks after dropping the crock pot bowl with bbq sauce from cooking ribs on the floor before supper tonight, knocking a pint jar of grease all over the counter and floor and me. Penelope came running but we locked her out of the kitchen. Stew cleaned it up for me, thank goodness. Had to swiffer mop twice! Got grease and bbq sauce all over my clothes and houseshoe socks. Made me have to wear a pair of matching socks. If you know me you know my socks never match. I hate matching socks. Guess it’s a character flaw.

Watched the sun set after supper, sitting in the swing and enjoying a cup of hot coffee, counting my blessings of family and friends. Mother Nature painted a magnificent quilt on the horizon in pale hues of orange, pink, and purple and the sun lay her head down in the warmth of her yellow rays, slowly gathering the pink and purple clouds about her. Father Sky kissed the sun goodnight and waked the moon. He pinned the waxing gibbous moon in the night sky heavens and studded the sky canopy with bright stars. Father Sky has created a gorgeous night sky, full of stars, hung around Mother Nature’s neck like a twinkling diamond necklace. So pretty to see in the gloaming of the day. We truly live in a beautiful world.

Light shines brightest in the darkness. The stars are billions of years old and when we look up in the darkness and see the small twinkling stars we see hope in light of the stars. God sends his light of love when darkness surrounds us. The stars are only visible in the darkness of night but like God’s love they are always surrounding us. Hope might look like the night sky, small pin lights giving us courage in the darkness. When darkness surrounds us, we need to remember that darkness cannot extinguish the light of Jesus. He shines the brightest during the storms of our lives. When we’re grateful for the blessings in our lives we can become a light for others when their world becomes dark.

We need to shine our light and serve others. Do our best to live each day in a way that’s pleasing to God. Be a beacon of light in this troubled world and light the way to God’s love for others with graciousness and compassion. Lift others up with God’s love. Let your little light shine!

“Even in our darkest days, God’s peace is as a golden light continually shining on us.” — Unknown