Summertime on the porch this morning. Mother Nature just isn’t ready to say uncle and declare fall the winner. She needs to tell Father Sky to sketch some clouds with purple bellies full of rain showers. My grass is looking brown and parched. One of my tomato plants is bursting with green tomatoes, produced all summer and when I went to pull it up, I saw the new blooms and tiny tomatoes. Now I can count 23 big fat tomatoes. Guess I’ll fry up a few. If Chief were alive I’d make some green tomato relish but just for me, no. The other tomato plant is scraggly and pitiful, holding forth with six little tomatoes. I want to put some fall vegetables in their pots but just can’t pull them up with fruit on their vines.

As I walked Penelope this morning the sky was cerulean blue, almost purple where the sky rested her head low on the horizon. The sky is cloudless and the sun is bright, hugging the world with her warmth. The sun, the burning ball of gas at the center of the solar system, is such a life giving force for earth. Terri Guillemets describes the sun as “nature’s hug and spirit breath to the earth.” I like the imagery of the sun hugging us with her warmth. And if we listen closely we might hear the sun whispering of rain soon for the parched landscape.

As I walk Penelope I’m walking under the shade of the old oaks and then back into the sunshine. Sunshine is such a glorious gift from nature. I step from the shade into the sunshine, feeling the warmth on my face and arms, delighting in the sun’s golden kisses. “This kiss of sunshine on my cheeks is a balm for my soul,” Unknown. Henry Ward Beecher said, “The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world’s joy.”

I’m reminded now of God’s grace, always faithful and smiling, welcoming us back into his flock when we stray. 1 John 1:5, reads, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” God is a sun in our lives, a comforting source of warmth and guidance. Psalm 84:11 reads. “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” God promises to be protective of us, to nurture us in our faith, to provide light and warmth when our days are dark and cold.

There are so many beautiful quotes about the sun and its warmth. I’ve been sitting in the swing at twilight tonight reading them as the light of day dims. Mother Nature has painted a raging wildfire across the horizon in fiery shades of red and oranges. “No sun outlasts it’s sunset, but it will rise again and bring the dawn,” Maya Angelou. God has given us the promise of the sun rising gloriously greeting each new day in a blaze of beautiful color.

God’s sunshine gives us comfort and joy. Just like the sun gives light and warmth to earth, the Lord shines his holy light on us, bathing us in his grace, giving us light when life darkens our paths. In the scriptures Jesus tells his followers, “you are the light of the world.” Accept Jesus in your heart and as it says in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

“Be noble like the sun; let even those who resent you for shinning benefit from your warmth.” — Matshona Dhliwayo