The day is awakening with its azure blue sky, a few cotton candy clouds floating softly on the blueness. The breeze is so pleasant and sounds like fall as it rustles the leaves on the oak tree branches, the leaves holding on tight, waiting to be painted in their glorious fall colors before they let go and fearlessly float to the ground. One lone brown magnolia leaf is dancing up the street in the breeze, slapping itself on the street, sounding like a child running in tennis shoes.

The finches are on the feeders but not squabbling. Their ring leader must be in jail waiting for them to pay his bond. I see mainly female purple finches so they are minding their manners. I love watching the handsome male cardinals this time of year, their plumage so cardinal red, almost fluorescent. And the females in their wondrous fawn brown colors highlighted with oranges and reds. I saw a little chickadee today and a downy woodpecker on the oak tree. The doves are back bobbing their heads around as they peck the sunflowers seeds on the ground under the feeders. The hummingbirds and butterflies are tea partying on the zinnias.

I’m sitting on the porch now after supper enjoying the gloaming slowly pulling down the light of the day, deepening the shadows of the coming darkness, sending the cardinals home to their nests. I hear a lone freight train’s horn echo as it heads out of town, the train cars clicking on the metal rails of the tracks, the lonely horn blowing loudly at all the town’s railroad crossings. Always had trains where I’ve lived and I love their horns and whistles and click and clacks.

The sky is overcast in vanilla ice cream colored clouds. As I imagine a magnificent sunset playing out behind the clouds, wondering how the sun and Father Sky are dressed, I move across the porch to sit in the other swing and see a wondrous watermelon red sunset burst off the bristles of Mother Nature’s paint brushes behind the tall old magnolia tree across the street. Mother Nature painted the horizon’s clouds waiting in line to watch the pageant in pale layers of blue and pink and aqua, so brief a picture but so beautiful in its rendering. I’m beginning to think dusk with all its shadows is my favorite time of day. Then again, I love watching the morning come awake with the bluing of the sky. Don’t know which I love the most.

Been reading a biography about Queen Elizabeth, watched the debates, and I’m late in my blogging tonight. Forgot to make time for reading in the quote books today so I’m using the quote for September 10 by Frederick Douglass and it reads, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” For some inexplicable reason I thought of the struggle of learning to ride my unicycle. We had a row of small chestnut trees down my street in front of my house and my uncle’s house next door. I rode back and forth from tree to tree, reaching out to grab a tree limb, till one day I got brave enough to let go and venture off to the city library. I was so proud of myself. Riding the unicycle is the trivial struggle of a child but it did show me that I could accomplish something if I didn’t give up trying.

Chief always said anything worth doing is worth doing well. Sometimes we have to reach down inside ourselves for the courage to endure the sacrifices we make in working for the things in life that are worthwhile to us. We can’t expect to achieve our goals without difficulties. God sends struggles help us grow in faith and teach us to have compassion and understanding as we realize we all face challenges. We learn through our trials that hard work and dedication get results. God teaches us to pray when our struggles get too heavy. He wants to put our burdens on his shoulders and give us peace.

Our spiritual journey is full of trials. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” It’s normal to have conflicts with our faith and have questions about God. Those times we wrestle with our faith doesn’t mean we don’t believe in God. He never turns away when we doubt. God give us hope to trust in his guidance and his promises. We have a lifetime of travel with God and our spiritual journey will not be without struggle.

“Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind.” — Henri Frederick Amiel