The day is waking in all her glory. The birds are singing and flittering all over my yard, the scampering squirrels are stealing sunflower seeds from the bird feeders, and the buzzards are climbing the wind current staircases. Another day spins with its blue sky and warm sunshine. I’m perched in the swing drinking coffee and enjoying the bird choirs.

I’m thinking about the sunshine warming my bare feet and kissing my cheeks. Life is always full of sunshine even when clouds of doubt and despair cover the sun, it never stops shining. Psalms 84:11 says, “For the Lord is a sun and shield: The Lord will give grace and glory.” God wants us to put our hope in him during times of crisis. He will shield us with his comforting love, pushing the shadows of doubt away,

Our lives are like the sky but Father Sky doesn’t always sketch with just one color. No matter how blue our skies are we know the dark clouds will eventually come. We weather these storms and look for rainbows on the horizon. We need the occasional storms to billow up in our calm blue skies to help us appreciate God’s blessings. Clouds color our experiences in life. When the sky is exceptional in its beauty, maybe God is talking to us, painting the sky with his love. When he sends the frightful storms we know when they pass he will light the day with warm sunshine, sending a rainbow to dress the horizon.

The Lord, like the sun, is the giver of life. God clothes us with the sunshine warmth of his love and grace. We walk in the sun of God’s love, seeking knowledge of our faith. Without the sun’s rays life on earth would perish. The sun brings light and warmth to the earth and the Lord’s grace brings light and joy to our lives and comforts us when the days are dark. By being followers of Christ we give light to people around us. We grow through the sunshine of our faith and spread the light of our faith to others when they’re in dark places. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others.” We walk in God’s light step by step with him. He lights our path and saves us from the darkness of the faithless.

Beautiful sunset tonight as the day slows down for its gloaming hour. The moon is already pinned in the heavens but without his starry hosts. Mother Nature gathered Father Sky’s pastels and blended the blues and yellows and oranges and reds and purple chalk sticks to render a glorious sunset. I walked Penelope to the end of the street so we could watch Mother Nature sketching a glorious sherbet parfait in a crystal goblet on the horizon. As we walked home the night followed quickly behind us.

I love the night sky. Psalm 33:6 states, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” I can see God blowing the stars around like a dandelion bloom as I watch for Father Sky to pin the stars and hang his moon in the purple canopy of the darkness. When I gaze up at the night sky I feel how tiny we are in the universe. I sometimes think of the wise men following the bright star to kneel by baby Jesus. There is beauty and hope in the night sky. I marvel that the stars always shine with the moon at night but are hidden in the day by the sun’s bright light.

Psalm 19 tells us “the heavens are seen as proclaiming God’s glory and work, day and night.” I am assured by my faith the day’s sky will follow the night’s sky. Each day Mother Nature and Father Sky compare notes and decide how to color the day. They get down to business with God’s permission and color the heavens above us. Every day is different and I marvel at the wonder of that. I love the deep azure blue of the sky when its full of bleached white clouds and I’m mesmerized by the collection of cloud colors in an overcast sky. I love to watch the thunder clouds boil up in their angry blues and purples and overflow with rain. When we feel the wind of a storm, maybe we are feeling the sky brush across our cheeks.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” The beauty of the earth is a manifestation of God’s power. “Jesus loves us, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

“Love comforteth like sunshine after rain.” — William Shakespeare