You could not deny summer today, hot and humid, but glorious with all the song bird symphonies and the dance recitals of the butterflies. I watered all the flowers and vegetables, giving them a good soaking. Cleaned the bird baths and pushed them further into the shade.

I’m still hung up on Emerson quotes. Love this one. “Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” My neighborhood has certainly been living in the sunshine today, bright and hot and humid, and we’ve had no wild air to drink or to cool things off. Nobody should swim in the sea now till the sharks head for deeper water. We’ve had a few rogue thunderstorm clouds roll by with a thunder clap or two and some lightning but they’ve taken their cooling showers elsewhere. Came in the house at lunch, just got too humid and hot to perch in the swing.

Headed back outside after supper and sat in the porch swing to enjoy the evening’s gloaming and watch the magical fireflies come alive. The purple clouds rushed together and piled up getting ready to rain. I heard some thunder but so far not a drop of rain has fallen from the clouds.

Mother Nature painted a backdrop of blueberry cream clouds to hide the pageant of sunset. As the sun perched on the horizon, her golden ray’s, blinding and pointed as a prism, shone through the beveled panes of my front door windows and painted a few small rainbows on my family photographs hung on the stairwell wall. I’ve seen this several times before and as usual as soon as I get back with the camera the rainbows were gone. I always feel those colorful little arches of color are blessings on my family.

I was sitting in my rocking chair by the garden this morning enjoying the butterflies. A huge orange monarch was sitting on a pale yellow zinnia blossom, so pretty with their contrasting colors. I watched the butterfly open and close its fragile wings, soaking up the warm sun. Butterflies really struggle leaving their cocoon sometimes struggling till near death. But the butterflies struggle is what gives it wings strength. They could not fly without their struggles.

We all have struggles in our lives, too. C.S. Lewis said “It’s not the load that breaks you down. It’s the way you carry it.” Our attitude determines how heavy our load is. We can moan and groan and let the struggles take over our lives or we can choose to go forward, seeking sunshine in life again, asking God to help us carry the burden. Challenges in life help us grow and develop. If we are optimistic we can look at difficult tasks as a challenge, making them easier to face. If we’re pessimistic, we expect the worse of a situation, letting the load push us to the ground. We don’t see a way to get back up.

God is always with us, helping us up and helping us carry our burdens, giving us strength to get through daily trials. We have to let him know we need his assistance through our prayers and thanksgiving. Matthew 6:8 reads, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” But praying to God is how we receive what we need from him. Give God control over the things you can’t control in your life and trust he knows best.

As fellow Christians we also need to help others with their burdens, serving God by sharing our faith with those in need. Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” God gives us the strength to handle whatever obstacles life puts in our path. If you want God’s peace, pray about everything. Ask for what you need and give him a prayerful thank you for all he’s done.

“Butterflies are nature’s angels. They remind us what a gift it is to be alive.” — Robyn Nola