The day waked beautifully, sporting a pale blue sky full of thin cotton candy clouds stretched out along the horizon. The clouds made me think of the cotton fluff inside a stuffed animal toy. After Penelope’s walk I put her in her playpen and filled up the bird feeders. After my bird chores were finished I sat down in the swing to ponder.

I put my feet up on the swing cushions, shut my eyes, leaned back, let the sun kiss my face with her warmth, and when I opened my eyes I saw an enormous cloud in the shape of an angel, dressed in a hooded robe, huge outstretched feathered wings, looking down over the earth. The sun was so blinding I had to peek through my fingers to see the cloud. Glanced over at the bird feeders and when I looked back at the angel cloud it had morphed unto a mythical dragon. I love the sky’s cloudscapes.

The sun is such a gift, her wondrous sunrises and sunsets painted by Mother Nature using God’s watercolors are magnificent. How can you not have hope when witnessing one of Mother Nature’s creations as the sun rolls down the horizon. I love this Bible verse from Psalm 65, “Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy.”

The rising sun is the promise of a new day, a day we can walk with God in his love and holy light, walking with God’s wisdom directing us down the right path to salvation. Ecclesiastes 11:7 reads, “Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning.” There is so much joy in a new day’s dawning. We wake with breath, thankful for a new day and a new beginning. Proverbs 4:18 states, “The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.”

I think sunset is one of the most glorious gifts of nature, too. The day’s light turns dark as the sky is filled with brilliant watercolors from Mother Nature’s paint brushes. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork,” James 4:14. I see God in every sunset. Day and night, defined by sunrises and sunsets, are reminders of God’s presence in our lives. The grandeur of these displays of nature give us a connection to something larger than ourselves, evidence of a divine presence.

I’m not up to watch the sun wake the day but I see God and feel his love with every sunset I witness. The beautiful watercolors and the changing lights of the sunsets connect me to God. I thank him for these magnificent renderings.

A little piece of paper just fluttered to the floor from my daily devotional book. Used to keep these words taped on my bathroom mirror so I could read them every morning. Thought I had lost them. The words written by Heartsill Wilson — “This is the beginning of a new day. God has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it or use it for good. What I do today is very important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving something in its place I have traded for it. I want it to be a gain, not a loss — good not evil. Success, not failure, in order that I shall not regret the price I paid for it.”

Good words for appreciating every day God grants us on this earth.

“The sunset is here to remind you that after darkness, light always returns.”