Enjoyed porch perching till mid-afternoon when the heat drove me inside to my reading chair. My yard was full of purple finches and cardinals and doves. Dumb Dumb and four of his dove buddies had a tea party in the middle of the street scrambling and squeaking away when the mail lady sped down the street. Mr. Dirty as I call the little downy woodpecker visited the suet feeders dressed in his dirty white vest and black and white checked sport coat. I’ve decided his family’s nest must be in a wet decaying tree and he’s dirty from going in and out of the nest hole. I apologize, Sir, for calling you dirty. Guess your dirt is a badge of honor for a woodpecker father.

Another day of rain and I’ll be able to bale the grass in my flower bed. My one cantaloupe is growing and stretching his vine. Last year my garden produced one cantaloupe and when I went out to cut it off the vine something had eaten half of it. I was crushed. The sun is kissing all the flowers’ blooms, making them look up to the sky, enjoying the warmth on their petals. My yard is a symphony of bumblebees.

Watched the sun hold still on the crest of the horizon this evening like a golf ball sitting on a golf tee. The sun gathered its rays close and turned into a perfect ball of orange-red fire, sitting still while Mother Nature picked up her watercolor brushes and stroked a beautiful reddish orange wildfire across the landscape of the horizon, leaving the silhouettes of the oaks and magnolias inky black in the dusk of twilight. As the sun blazed a trail down through the gray and purple clouds she took the hand of Father Sky and they invited the day’s gloaming to perform after their exit. The dusk lit the lightning bugs’ lanterns and the lightning bugs glittered in the twilight like the stars in the heavens. “Fireflies are stars that could not journey to the sky.” Michael Bassey Johnson.

I love these words written by Melody Lee about lightning bugs. “Fireflies, to me, are nighttime butterflies, Dazzling the night with magical flashes of light. When I see these teeny tiny sparks dart in the night, I am overcome with a sense of comfort and calm, Same as when a butterfly flutters around me during the day. I’m drawn to the dance of both astonishing critters. They remind me of life. They remind me of hope.”

We all associate darkness with the danger of the unknown. A small flicker of light can pierce the darkness giving us a glimmer of hope to help us through the dark difficulties of life. Psalm 18:28 states, “You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.” God’s light can serve as a beacon of spiritual comfort. Bible scripture tells us Jesus is the guiding light. John 8:12 reads, “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”

Victor Hugo’s wrote, “The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved.” I was thinking how easily those words can be applied to God. We are all God’s children. He loves us and he helps us. No worry is too insignificant or too heavy for God to take off our shoulders. 2 Corinthians 6:1 reads. “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” By creation, we are all God’s children and we are loved for ourselves. We make mistakes, have moments when our faith is questioned, but God sees us as his children and understands. He loves us despite our imperfections. He gives us mercy, grace, and love. He accepts us as we are.

“We are children of God. Our potential is unlimited. Our inheritance is sacred. May we always honor that heritage — in every thought and deed.” — Russell M. Nelson