“And they were canopied by the blue sky, so cloudless, clear, and purely beautiful, that God alone was to be seen in Heaven,” Lord Byron.

I think the sky today, dark Caribbean blue with not even a wisp of a cloud to mar the sky’s beauty, would inspire Lord Byron. So, so pretty this morning it’s inspiring me and making me count my blessings, grateful for cloudless skies in my life. It’s cool and pleasant on the porch. Penelope is napping in her playpen and Cat is lying beside the pen enjoying the coolness of the porch’s red tile. The birds are singing lullaby symphonies and the breeze is quietly pinging the wind chimes pipes one note at a time. Nothing is disrupting the peace on my street. I believe I could shut my eyes and go to sleep but I’m afraid Balthazar might sneak on the porch.

Haven’t seen my squirrel friends in a few days. Guess they are mad I put a slinky toy on their favorite bird feeder pole. Was looking forward to watching them get a bouncy ride down the pole but guess they’ve already experienced that amusement ride and don’t care for another. Cat has murdered three birds since she arrived. I had a talk with her and told her we don’t murder birds in my yard and that her diet will consistently be Purina cat chow with an occasional treat. It’s estimated in the United States that cats kill 1.3-4 billion birds each year! And that’s not counting the 599 million killed by windows and the 200 million killed by cars! Wow…better give Cat another lecture!

Came outside after supper with Penelope to enjoy day’s ending. Sunset was so pretty tonight, subdued with wondrous muted watercolors from Mother Nature’s palette and paint brushes. The sun was a bright silver beacon of light, walking on the sunset pageant stage dressed in a formal gown the color of a ripe Georgia peach. Father Sky, dressed in his black tuxedo and top hat, walking stick firmly held in his left hand, took the hand of the sun and walked her down the horizon as her gown left a trail of pale peach light in the sky’s heavens.

A crowd of stretched out line clouds, gathered on each side of the horizon to watch the sun set, were brushed on the bottoms with pale pink watercolors, their crowns tinted a pale muted mauve. As Father Sky kissed the sun goodnight, the clouds thinned out and blended into the murky light of the street’s twilight and darkness came to hug the earth. Father Sky waked the moon and stars and hung them in the black velvety night sky. “In the serenade of the black, the stars are a choir; they are lights that sing in infinite patterns. Sometimes eyes need music, and the darker the night the sweeter the song,” Angela Abram. Such a beautiful quote. I love it. Sometimes eyes need music, too. Never thought about that before.

Haven’t been reading in my quote books today but in my book of quotes, one for every day of the year, today’s quote is by George Bernard Shaw, an Irish playwright who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925, probably most known for his work Pygmalion with was adapted for Broadway as My Fair Lady. His quote reads, “Life is not meant to be easy, my child; but take courage; it can be delightful.”

We all know life isn’t fair and we need to be careful about the decisions we make. One split second decision can affect the rest of our lives. We have to learn to accept the things that don’t go our way and trust that God is leading us down the correct path. That four letter word, hope, can go along way in accepting life’s trials. Sandeep Dave writes, “Life isn’t fair – Get over it or get frustrated, it’s your choice. It’s true, and you still have to deal with it. Whining about it rarely levels the playing field, but learning to rise above it is the ultimate reward.”

There will always be things in life that we don’t understand and yes, life is not always fair. But life is a glorious journey we travel and we need to appreciate each day. When we struggle with life God is always with us. He has planned and mapped out our journey and sometimes he lets the rocks fall where we want to walk. These life struggles make us grow stronger in our faith and closer to God. We learn to rely on God’s strength through our prayers and thanksgiving. God is ever faithful and steadfast in his love. His hands are always reaching to catch us when we stumble and fall.

Life is not meant to be easy, friends, but take courage; it can be delightful.

“When dark shadows fall around me, when the day turns into night, I am safe within his keeping for he draws me to his side,” Ever Faithful, song lyrics.