“May my heart always be open to little birds who are the secrets of living,” ee cummings. This quote popped up in my mind when I opened the front door this morning and walked out on the porch. Such a pretty day, just full of bird songs and bright sunshine. The sky was the color of a Tiffany’s blue gift box and the birds were the jewels inside. Mother Nature must be trying to fly a large kit. The wind is really blowing and it’s cool on the porch. My friend could hear the wind chimes clamoring while we were talking on the phone. I love sitting in the swing and just letting the earth rotate around me. Sometimes I do some deep thinking and sometimes I just reminisce with all my memories. Sometimes I just lean back and let the sun kiss my face with its warmth. “Every bird, every tree, every flower reminds me what a blessing and a privilege it is to be alive,” Marty Rubin. I feel this way as I gaze, perched in the porch swing, on my little piece of heaven on earth. I know I live a charmed life and I’m grateful for every moment.

The sunset was so pretty tonight, not hidden by the overcast clouds but painted by Mother Nature’s watercolor brushes in bright shades of a raging wildfire. The sun entered the stage as a golden fiery ball, rolling down into the flames of a yellow-orange and red pageant stage. Father Sky, dressed in his local red and black volunteer fireman’s suit, took the arm of the sun to escort her down the runway. The sun was casually dressed in skinny leg jeans, a purple crop top, and a Braves baseball cap. Father Sky, in his heavy black boots and the sun, in her red high-topped tennis shoes, tiptoed through the sunset pageant as the flames of rich red, deep orange, soft blue, and bright yellow blazed and then dimmed into a golden apricot orange. Mother Nature painted the surrounding clouds in shades of elderberry blue and pale pink and vanilla cream. The twilight’s magical haze floated across the neighborhood as the night bedded down and Father Sky went to wake the moon and stars. Father Sky was “born to kiss the stars and dance with the moon,” writes Avijeet Das. Another day of the Lord’s making is gone. We’re not promised tomorrow but another day will dawn with the sun’s rising.

Oliver Goldsmith said, “Life is a journey that must be travelled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations.” We all begin our life’s journey the day we are born and the journey is nonstop till the day we take our last breath. We’ll face changes and challenges but God knows the obstacles we face. He is always beside us, his love, his grace and his strength helping us when we’re stumbling. Psalm 23:4 reads, “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”

Our time on earth is limited and we need to make the most of the journey. When we’re older we realize that our destination matters but the experiences of our journey make life worthwhile. The purpose of life is not to be happy but to be useful and compassionate and kind to our fellow travelers, treating everyone fairly and with respect, treating others as we wish to be treated. If only we could all live by The Golden Rule as stated in Matthew 7:12, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

John Wooden says, “Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out.” That one little sentence sums up how to be content with our lives. We know every day will not be perfect but the way we accept the challenges of those days determines the path we walk. We can give up, trip up on the obstacles in our way, sit down and feel sorry for ourselves, or we can forge ahead knowing the obstacles will eventually disperse, strong in our faith that God will help us through the adversity, giving us the strength to keep going, trudging along in the darkness till the sun warms our cheeks again. “Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God,” 1 Peter 1:18.

We have to accept that life happens and regardless of our fears, everything does eventually work out in the end. As an Irish saying reads, “May the clouds in your life be only a background for a lovely sunset.” Don’t let life’s challenges define you. We have to have patience and put our trust and our faith in God. “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord our God will be with you wherever you go,” Joshua 1:9.

“The beautiful journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of yesterday.” – Steve Maraboli