Blue Skies

It was beautiful yesterday, with skies as blue as Paul Newman's eyes.

I visited the Theodosia Marina, where a mature old sycamore stands tall, its white branches bright against the sky. 

At my feet, a piece of sloughed off bark caught my attention, the back side crisscrossed with insect pathways. 

When I was a kid, my neighbor friends and I used to pretend that these were ancient maps that would tell us the way to hidden treasures.

  

We don't always get blue skies in this life, nor clear maps to guide us. 

One of my Mother's favorite songs, by Annie Johnson Flint, was "God Hath Not Promised Skies Always Blue". 

It holds great truths for any generation:

God hath not promised skies always blue,

Flower strewn pathways all our lives through;

God hath not promised sun without rain,

Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,

Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;

Never a mountain rocky and steep,

Never a river turbid and deep.

Refrain:

But God hath promised strength for the day,

Rest for the labor, light for the way,

Grace for the trials, help from above,

Unfailing kindness, undying love.

Perhaps we've found those hidden treasures, after all.

First published 1/29/11

Linking with Skywatch Friday

I Love Autumn

I love autumn with its cobalt skies washed clean by the rain,

a canopy of orange overhead, 

and a new layer of rusty leaves blanketing the ground, hiding acorn snacks.

I love the trees, checkered above the bluff, 

seeds taking flight on silken strands,

and the sound of acorns, bouncing off the roof like popcorn.

I love autumn,

and my heart soars in gratitude to the One who made it,

who also formed galaxies,

who gave the promise of forever.

And this is the real and eternal life;

That they know you,

The one and only true God,

And Jesus Christ, whom you sent.

John 17:3