Today was so pretty but the March winds did blow, all day. I love to hear the wind pushing through the large magnolias on our street, the rustling of the leaves and branches bending with the stiff breeze, dropping old brown leaves that chase each other down the street, slapping themselves on the concrete, playing tag in the March zephyr.

My yard was teeming with birds today and I kept up with what kinds of songbirds visited. I saw goldfinches and purple finches, downy woodpeckers, sparrows, titmice, chickadees, cardinals, and brown headed cowbirds. I think my favorite visitors were a host of 17 beautiful little sparrows and a charm of goldfinches and purple finches. Some of the male goldfinches, dressed in their bright yellow sport coats for Easter, were perched on the old oak tree limbs and were so pretty contrasting with the chartreuse of the oak limb catkins. I just love these beautiful little creatures and I’m thankful God sends them to my yard each day.

Could not see Mother Nature’s magnificent painting of the sunset tonight, too many clouds. But in my imagination, hidden behind the backdrop of the horizon, were layers of Mother Nature’s watercolors splashed on the clouds in colors of aquamarine, tangerine orange, huckleberry blue, and cotton candy pink. She paints for God’s eyes and shares her sunsets with us as gifts of the day’s end.

As I sat in the porch swing and watched the overcast sky getting dark with rain, I could see the sun dressed in a formal gown of silver watered silk, perfectly beautiful in its simplicity. “She danced wild across the evening sky, dispersing clouds with the frill of her gown,” (Meeta Ahluwalia) and taking the arm of Father Sky, walked statuesquely down the pale blue skyline and turned off the day’s light of the quiet dusk of twilight. As the glorious day ends, Father Sky wakes the moon and stars to embrace the night’s darkness. Another day ends and night begins.

Been thinking about God’s grace today. God gives us grace and brings us peace. “God’s grace is immeasurable, his mercy is inexhaustible, his peace is inexpressible,” Unknown. I looked up the definition of grace several times while I was pondering in my porch swing and found the Biblical meaning of grace defined as “undeserved favor.” Grace cannot be earned; it something that is freely given.

I think God’s grace give us the fortitude to face life’s trials and tribulations. We have God’s strength within us. His unconditional love favors us and blesses us. He stands faithfully besides us and holds us up when we’re unsteady and carries us when our burdens are too heavy. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so no one can boast.”

When our hearts are broken and our spirits shattered by grief, we can turn to God’s grace and pray for healing. Even on our good days we need God’s grace in our lives to help show us the way. Grace gives us the strength to battle whatever challenges we face. “Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s Grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace,” Jerry Bridges.

We all need to have the character of grace to live a Christian life. We need to learn to see the joyous hope in the grey skies of our lives and we need to rejoice and give thanks when the rainbows stretch across our horizons. “What gives me the most hope every day is God’s grace; knowing that his grace is going to give me the strength for whatever I face. Knowing that nothing is a surprise to God,” Rick Warren.

God’s love is constant and unconditional. It’s free for the asking. He’s always ready to embrace us and bring us into his kingdom.

God’s mercy and grace give me hope — for myself, and for our world.” — Billy Graham