Such a beautiful day today! The sky was almost cornflower blue, the sun blinding and bright, her golden rays warming the earth. Not a cloud in sight when I walked Penelope. It was chilly and the wind was fierce at times setting the bamboo to dancing in time with the wind chimes’ loud symphonies. I love all the seasons but I like them to be true to their time frames. If it’s suppose to be spring, then Mother Nature needs to get with the program! Old Man Winter just can’t relinquish his grip on spring. I thought spring had sprung but you wouldn’t know that tonight. One of my friends remembers a snow 40 years ago on Easter Sunday, it was the last Sunday in April of that year. You never know! I might get my snow fall yet!

My yard is full of songbirds this morning. Scripture in the Bible tells us the birds are cared for by God as a part of his creation. The birds were singing so gloriously this morning, their little hearts beating with happiness, probably glad last night’s storm winds didn’t blow them away. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “The early morning hour should be dedicated to praise: do not the birds set us the example?” I think the birds are singing their prayers as the day wakes, grateful to be alive. We should do the same each morning, singing out praises for waking with breath to experience another day the Lord has made, bowing our heads in gratitude for all the wondrous blessings of our lives.

I love looking up at the sky behind my house, high above the bamboo forest, watching the man in the moon sitting perched in the dark heavens surrounded by twinkling stars. When I look at the night’s heavens full of stars tonight I’m reminded of an old Eskimo Proverb that reads, “Perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones shines down to let us know they are with us.” I love thinking of this when I gaze at the stars.

I think we have to have darkness in our lives to appreciate the days of God’s sunshine. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” Sometimes we have to face the crippling darkness of life’s trials and tribulations before we can appreciate the beauty and hope in the world. We’re reminded of our blessings when we suffer and reach for God’s hands of light and love. God helps us stand and start our walk back into the sunshine of life’s journey. We can find hope through our faith in God’s Holy Light, faith that can light our path home, even in the darkest of times.

Been reading Emily Dickinson quotes this afternoon. My favorite quote of hers, naturally mentioning birds, reads, “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul — and sings the tunes without the words — and never stops at all.” Hope abounds constantly inside all of us, wound up with our faith in a loving God, perched in our soul, and when life is full of difficult challenges, hope for a better tomorrow sings in our hearts as day dawns in its glorious colors.

We read in Psalms 50:1, “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” The dawning of another day brings a reminder that difficult times don’t last forever. We may cry through the darkness of night but joy will come with the morning’s light. That glorious word, hope, pushes us through till we walk back into the light. God wants our faith to be strong and true. Romans 15:13 states, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

Hope is a beautiful force that gives us the strength and the motivation to endure the hardships of life. Spiritual hope represents a new beginning, reminding us that we are not alone, helping us believe better days are ahead. Hope is a guiding light in the darkness.

“While there’s life, there’s hope.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero