“And they were canopied by the blue sky, so cloudless, clear, and purely beautiful, that God alone was to be seen in Heaven,” Lord Byron. I think the sky today, dark Caribbean blue with not even a wisp of clouds to mar the sky’s beauty, would inspire Lord Byron. So, so pretty this morning it’s inspiring me and making me count my blessings, grateful for cloudless skies in my life. I’m on the way to visit my grandchildren for a few days, driving along under a gorgeous summer sky. My granddaughter has her first volleyball game tonight. I love attending the children’s activities.

Walked on the porch to water my flowers before I left for Peachtree City and Kat was sitting by the double rocking chair smiling with hummingbird tail feathers sticking out of her mouth. I had a talk with her and told her we don’t murder birds in my yard and that her diet will consistently be Purina cat chow with an occasional treat. She just sat chewing up the hummingbird, beak and all, as I lectured her. It’s estimated in the United States that cats kill 1.3-4 billion birds each year! And that’s not counting the 599 million killed by windows and the 200 million killed by cars! Wow…better give Kat another lecture!

Sunset was so pretty tonight, in my imagination, as Mother Nature painted the sunset behind a curtain of pale vanilla clouds. I see the sun as a bright silver beacon of light, walking on the sunset pageant stage dressed in a formal gown the color of a ripe Georgia peach. Father Sky, dressed in his black tuxedo and top hat, walking cane held in his left hand, took the hand of the sun and walked her down the golden horizon as her gown left a trail of pale peach light in the sky’s heavens.

As we drove home from the volleyball game, Father Sky kissed the sun goodnight, the clouds thinned out and blended into the murky light of the street’s twilight, and darkness came to hug the earth. Father Sky waked the moon and stars and hung them in the black velvet night sky. “In the serenade of the black, the stars are a choir; they are lights that sing in infinite patterns. Sometimes eyes need music, and the darker the night the sweeter the song,” Angela Abram. Such a beautiful quote. I love it. Sometimes eyes need music, too. Never thought about that before.

Haven’t been in my quote books tonight but I wrote down a quote by George Bernard Shaw for tonight’s writing. Shaw, an Irish playwright, won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1925. He’s probably most known for his work Pygmalion with was adapted for Broadway as My Fair Lady. His quote reads, “Life is not meant to be easy, my child; but take courage; it can be delightful.” That quote inspires me when I ponder on it. Sounds like something God would tell us when we’re discouraged.

We all know life isn’t fair and we need to be careful about the decisions we make. One split second decision can affect the rest of our lives. We have to learn to accept the things that don’t go our way and trust that God is leading us down the correct path. That four letter word, hope, can go along way in accepting life’s trials. Sandeep Dave writes, “Life isn’t fair — Get over it or get frustrated, it’s your choice. It’s true, and you still have to deal with it. Whining about it rarely levels the playing field, but learning to rise above it is the ultimate reward.”

There will always be things in life that we don’t understand and yes, life is not always fair. But life is a glorious journey we travel and we need to appreciate each day. When we struggle with life God is always with us. He has planned and mapped out our journey. Sometimes he lets the rocks fall where we want to walk. These life struggles make us grow stronger in our faith and closer to God. We learn to rely on God’s strength through our prayers and thanksgiving. God is ever faithful and steadfast in his love. His hands are always reaching to catch us when we stumble and fall.

“When dark shadows fall around me, when the day turns into night, I am safe within his keeping for he draws me to his side,” Ever Faithful song lyrics.