I love a pretty day when the weather is cold. The sky was so glorious this morning. I opened the window curtains and got back in bed to watch the day awaken. I could hear all my wind chimes, their loud tintinnabulations ringing out morning prayers. The sky looked like Mother Nature had dragged her watercolor brushes back and forth across Father Sky’s sky canvas, the layers of color in pale shades of blue and white and purple highlighted with thin brush strokes of aqua. So pretty. The sun soon dried up the watercolors and the sky burst open in beautiful blueness, clear and cloudless. I love this quote about a blue sky by Gwendolyn Brooks — “If you love a man, he becomes part of the world, the atmosphere, the blue sky and the blue water.”

As the day grew heavy with cold wind, the sky filled with mackerel scale clouds and jet contrails morphing into rows of cloud waves, looking like snow from a snow plow piled on the sides of a country road. At sunset Mother Nature blushed the sky in watercolor layers of peach, melted vanilla, and turquoise, a Neapolitan sherbet sunset, the shades of color thinning out as they blended together toward the higher blue heavens. The sun changed her dress three times before she was content enough with her dress choice to begin her walk down the sunset pageant stage. She was introduced first on stage dressed in a pageant gown of lemon yellow silk. As she stood beaming her blinding yellow light, she quickly changed into a peach taffeta gown and began her walk down the horizon.

Still dissatisfied with her choice of gowns, the sun slowly dressed in a chiffon gown of muted tangerine, took the offered arm of Father Sky, rolled down the horizon, flouncing her hemline of peach silk ruffles across the sky line, tinting the treeline a pale tangerine, and dimming the magical light of twilight. Father Sky tucked the sun in her cloud covers, kissed her goodnight, turned the day’s light off, and rushed to wake the night. Under the directions of Father Sky, the radiant moon and his halo of twinkling stars hung on the high purple sky canvas stage and began their pageant of night.

I am so thankful for the view out my nine lady den windows. I can see the sky and the clouds, the lovely little songbirds visiting the feeders, sunshine and rain and green grass and the glorious sunsets and sunrises. I can see the bamboo dancing in the strong wind gusts. I feel sorry for those who look out their windows and see the spoils of war, the landscapes of bombed buildings and structures, the sad faces of the children living in a time of conflict. If you have a dark view out your window, I pray the rays of sunshine will warm your heart and help change your view.

John 8:12 states God is the world’s light. The scripture reads, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” There is lots of darkness in life and God’s love can help light the darkness. Scripture in John 1:5 tells us, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

We are bound to each other beyond death for our love doesn’t stop just because we are separated. For those of us entering a new year without our loved ones lets have the joy of knowing we’ll see them again in heaven to set the pace for this new year, to light our own little candle of hope and help spread God’s love to light the darkness.

“When you wake up each morning, you can choose to be happy or choose to be sad. Unless some terrible catastrophe has occurred the night before, it is pretty much up to you. Tomorrow morning, when the sun shines through your window, choose to make it a happy day.” — Lynda Resnick