Another glorious Thursday, overcast and warm, beautiful bright white clouds, blue sky peeking through when the clouds part. The birds singing all over the yard are being scolded by Fatty and Brownie, my oak tree squirrels. I have a lone catbird in the yard, so handsome in his deep grayish jacket, long black beak, and bright black eyes. Has a little black cap sitting rakishly on his head. He makes me think of a sneaky cat burglar as he cautiously eats from a suet basket. I’ve seen these birds for years but never noticed they had a small patch of rusty red feathers under their tail feathers until he flicked his tail and flew away.

Father Sky did everything he could to encourage his sketched clouds to pour out some raindrops but no matter what color he tried shading the clouds’ bellies in blues or grays or purples the clouds just floated north to drop their raindrops. The porch was so pleasant late afternoon. At twilight the day’s gloaming puts a quietness over the neighborhood. Birds sing individual songs and the pale light of day gets ready to fade away. It’s like watching a beautiful baby shut her eyes contentedly and drift off to sleep.

Mother Nature brushed strokes of aqua and pale orange watercolors across the horizon but could not coax the clouds to part and let the sun on stage. Mother Nature conducted her pageant of sunset behind the overcast cloud curtains. The sun ran down the horizon in her new red hightop tennis shoes, chasing Father Sky all the way to the night sky to wake the moon and stars. While she ran she sang, “I see the moon, the moon sees me, God bless the moon and God bless me; There’s grace in the cottage and grace in the hall; And the grace of God is over us all.”

I went to sleep sitting in the swing this afternoon, never have done that. Oldest brother came to visit and his truck driving up in the street waked me. He taught me how to check the oil in my car and put oil in the reservoir. Course I could not open the oil reservoir lid and he struggled to get it back on after he showed me how to take it off. My Bertha is a good car but she’s beginning to show her age. We talked about birds and our gardens and his coming to plow up my flower bed. I always enjoy his visits. He doesn’t stay long but I look forward to his visits. And yes, after three years of visits, Penelope still barks at him.

I have had no profound thoughts while pondering in the swing. I hate to say this but my research was confined to Popeye the Sailor Man. I was wondering about his friend “Wimpy” and his hamburger catchline, “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” Mr. J. Wellington Wimpy would be surprised to see how much his hamburger would cost now! Never knew Wimpy was his surname. And I was curious about his song, “I’m Popeye the Sailor Man. I’m Popeye the Sailor Man. I’m strong to the finish, cause I eats me spinach. I’m Popeye the Sailor Man.”

I think God and Popeye go hand in hand. Popeye keeps his eye on Olive Oyl and baby Sweet Pea just as God keeps his watchful eyes on us. Popeye is constantly saying, “I am what I am.” Popeye is a wisecracking sailor with bulging forearms. He always has a pipe in his mouth and constantly mumbles. Bluto is constantly harassing Popeye and Olive Oyl. Popeye has to eat a can of spinach, can and all, to have the strength to defeat Bluto. Both Popeye and God make sure the weak are protected.

I see God as a tall man dressed in a blue robe carrying a long walking stick, tanned and strong, white headed with a long white beard, warm deep blue eyes, callused strong hands, radiating love and power and strength in his demeanor. In Exodus 3:4, God tells Moses, “I am who I am.” He is who he is. God is constant, never changing. He is steadfast and strong, all powerful, omniscient, loving, our eternal protector. God is telling us he will always be there for us.

We all have to fight Bluto throughout our lives. With God on our side we don’t have to eat a can of spinach. Jesus is all the spinach we need. He is our savior, he rescues us, and protects us from harm. Our strength comes from our faith in the Lord. He is always standing by our side ready to defeat the Blutoes. When we’re discouraged and feel things are hopeless, we never have to fight our battles alone.

God always has his eyes on us and is concerned about us. He waits patiently for us to come to him in prayer and lay our Blutoes in his hands. He will take the burdens off our shoulders and give us courage to stand tall in our trials. We can’t avoid the battles of life but we have to trust that God is in control. God has promised to take care of us. Exodus 14:14 reads, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

“When we keep our eyes on God, stand firm in faith, continue to worship, and continue to believe and speak God’s Word, we will see the enemy’s plans for evil in our lives work out for our good.” ― Joyce Meyer