I hope you had some rest and relaxation over the weekend and that you were able to turn your attention to worship the Lord in the fellowship of others who know God's love and peace in Jesus Christ.
About an hour before sunset last night I went out to the beach. The varieties of layers of clouds were very beautiful.
For quite a while I just sat in a beach chair, watchin
g the ocean and listening to the waves come ashore.
Some surfers were gathered, floating on their boards out beyond the small breakers that didn't give any of them a ride while I was gazing out their way.
After a while I got up and walked along the beach toward the north. A line of cloud clumps that looked like a native American peace pipe had already darkened because the sun's angle no longer afforded them light.
But groups of cumulo-nimbus clouds still floated with enough altitude to glisten with bright white, edged in blue with their interiors beginning to glow with a hint of rose.
A flock of around twenty terns were congregated on a little rise where the tide had carved away a kind of platform for them. They were all looking out to sea and reminded me of Olympic spectators attentively regarding some sports event.
I turned my attention away from the birds on the shore, back to the ocean. All of a sudden I saw a plover dive straight into a wave and come up with a small bait fish between its beak.
In no time at all the plover and a companion who was harassing it and scolding with screeches and thei quickly flew in a mad chase were directly over my head. I clearly saw the silver prize fish in the champion's beak.
So I was reminded of Jesus' comforting words in Matthew's Gospel that we don't have to worry about anything because our Father in Heaven provides for us even as the Lord provides for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out, feeling very grateful to God.
As I kept walking, I came to the place where I had decided to turn around to head back to the motel.
I stopped to look directly out to sea and my breath caught in my throat. There in the middle of a complex of cumulus clouds towering over the surf was a large square of rainbow colors tucked inside the biggest cloud, behind and to the left edge of a smaller cloud out front.
Of course when looking out over the Atlantic, I am facing east, so as the sun continued to be seen in the west closer and closer to the horizon, the angle of its light made the square of colors grow in the midst of the clouds until it was like a tall pillar and finally even began to curve to the right a bit at the top.
I had been wondering how things will turn out and whether I will find a place to live soon. Having lifted all that up to the Lord, and having released the worries and fears into His capable hands, with His help, I took the rainbow enthroned in the cumulus complex personally.
I felt comforted by the sign of God's provision when I saw the plover with the fish.
And I felt joy to be reminded of God's faithfulness when I watched the rainbow in the clouds.
Then as I walked toward the south again after turning back, on the farthest edge of the horizon to the southeast there were some beautiful fluffy clouds that had turned dark blue just as the sun was setting.
I don't ever remember seeing a cloud quite that color before, though maybe I just didn't pay enough attention.
I was walking in the water at the edge of the surf and all of a sudden a breaker yielded the fins of two small sharks caught in a wave as it almost reached the sand. The sharks were tumbling over each other, struggling to stay in the water.
Their fins were no more than eight or ten inches high as they seemed to be fighting to keep from being beached.
It's funny how we can complacently walk along unaware of what might be hidden, only to have something surprising revealed in an instant.
I decided to continue my walk a bit further up the beach away from the edge of the water.
;-)
I hope you will have a blessed day, and that you will take at least a moment to remember that God loves you completely and eternally.
More than that, I pray that you will be conscious of God's love for you in a deep way as you go through your day.
And I hope you will keep remembering that the Lord has good plans for you. When you keep seeking His face and wait on Him, He will surely reveal them to you.
Some surfers were gathered, floating on their boards out beyond the small breakers that didn't give any of them a ride while I was gazing out their way.
After a while I got up and walked along the beach toward the north. A line of cloud clumps that looked like a native American peace pipe had already darkened because the sun's angle no longer afforded them light.
But groups of cumulo-nimbus clouds still floated with enough altitude to glisten with bright white, edged in blue with their interiors beginning to glow with a hint of rose.
A flock of around twenty terns were congregated on a little rise where the tide had carved away a kind of platform for them. They were all looking out to sea and reminded me of Olympic spectators attentively regarding some sports event.
I turned my attention away from the birds on the shore, back to the ocean. All of a sudden I saw a plover dive straight into a wave and come up with a small bait fish between its beak.
In no time at all the plover and a companion who was harassing it and scolding with screeches and thei quickly flew in a mad chase were directly over my head. I clearly saw the silver prize fish in the champion's beak.
So I was reminded of Jesus' comforting words in Matthew's Gospel that we don't have to worry about anything because our Father in Heaven provides for us even as the Lord provides for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out, feeling very grateful to God.
As I kept walking, I came to the place where I had decided to turn around to head back to the motel.
I stopped to look directly out to sea and my breath caught in my throat. There in the middle of a complex of cumulus clouds towering over the surf was a large square of rainbow colors tucked inside the biggest cloud, behind and to the left edge of a smaller cloud out front.
Of course when looking out over the Atlantic, I am facing east, so as the sun continued to be seen in the west closer and closer to the horizon, the angle of its light made the square of colors grow in the midst of the clouds until it was like a tall pillar and finally even began to curve to the right a bit at the top.
I had been wondering how things will turn out and whether I will find a place to live soon. Having lifted all that up to the Lord, and having released the worries and fears into His capable hands, with His help, I took the rainbow enthroned in the cumulus complex personally.
I felt comforted by the sign of God's provision when I saw the plover with the fish.
And I felt joy to be reminded of God's faithfulness when I watched the rainbow in the clouds.
Then as I walked toward the south again after turning back, on the farthest edge of the horizon to the southeast there were some beautiful fluffy clouds that had turned dark blue just as the sun was setting.
I don't ever remember seeing a cloud quite that color before, though maybe I just didn't pay enough attention.
I was walking in the water at the edge of the surf and all of a sudden a breaker yielded the fins of two small sharks caught in a wave as it almost reached the sand. The sharks were tumbling over each other, struggling to stay in the water.
Their fins were no more than eight or ten inches high as they seemed to be fighting to keep from being beached.
It's funny how we can complacently walk along unaware of what might be hidden, only to have something surprising revealed in an instant.
I decided to continue my walk a bit further up the beach away from the edge of the water.
;-)
I hope you will have a blessed day, and that you will take at least a moment to remember that God loves you completely and eternally.
More than that, I pray that you will be conscious of God's love for you in a deep way as you go through your day.
And I hope you will keep remembering that the Lord has good plans for you. When you keep seeking His face and wait on Him, He will surely reveal them to you.
Kathleen Ware Harris © 2013
kwharris777@gmail.com
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