Psalm 118:24 reads, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Each day is a gift from God and today was a beautiful gift. Father Sky sketched a hot blue sky filled with clouds colored fluffy white and cigar smoke gray. Bright sunshine reflected off the crowns of the old oaks and towering magnolias. I sat in the swing drinking my coffee watching the birds and butterflies. Big fat bumblebees were buzzing around the yellow petunias, bending the blooms with their weight in their searches for nectar and pollen. The petunias were in the throes of death from the heat but I’ve resurrected them with twice daily waterings and Miracle Grow.

I had a wondrous visitor come to my zinnia dance stage this morning, pirouetting across the vivid blooms. I’ve never seen a butterfly this big. It was a Protographium Marcellus, commonly called a zebra swallowtail. I called him Marcell as he danced in his elegant black and white striped costume, posing on the blooms for photographs. I was entranced watching him. I bet his wing span was almost for inches.

There is such joy in a butterfly’s flight, winging their happiness through the landscape in the hot sunshine, emblems of the strength and beauty of life. “Butterflies are God’s confetti, thrown upon the Earth in celebration of His love,” K. D’Angelo. The swallowtail butterflies are said to symbolize a connection to the spiritual world. I felt that connection as I sat and just gazed at Marcell “tripping the light fantastic” nimbly on his skinny black legs, dancing through the zinnias with a creature’s joy of being alive. “If you smile when you see a butterfly, you have happiness in your soul,” Diana Cooper. I certainly smiled as I watched Marcell.

Umair Siddique wrote, “May every sunrise hold more promise and every sunset hold more peace.” I watched the peace of sunset this evening from the porch swing. Mother Nature borrowed Winnie the Pooh’s honey pot and poured the golden honey all across the horizon as the sun rolled down the horizon dressed in a sparkling gown of gold. I think the glorious colors of sunset give us hope for a new day. Sharon Rene calls the sunset “nature’s farewell kiss for the night.” I love that.

Sunrise gives us a feeling of serenity as the day wakes in her crayon colors. Psalm 113:3 states, “From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.” God’s love is as the assurance of the sun rising each day, constant and faithful. When the dawn breaks, God’s holy light dispels the darkness of doubt and fear in our lives. Isaiah 60:1, reads, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” Each sunrise is a new chance to experience God’s grace and mercy.

God has given us so many glorious gifts to remind us of his loving care. Take time to appreciate all the butterflies God puts in your life.

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