blended beauty

I am taken with the sky.

I think I have spent more time gazing 

and taking photos of it in the last year 

than I have in my entire life combined.

My eyes are drawn to it like metal to a magnet.

Traveling home from Tennessee this evening offered exquisite views and I spent a good part of the 5+ hour trip gazing out the window, occasionally trying to capture what I was soaking up. These pictures do not do the views justice, (a phone can only do so much) but I wanted to share them, along with the thoughts they prompted.

the wonder of light and dark,
how life includes both
and how each has it's place and value

“I lift up my eyes to the hills, 

where does my help come from? 

My help comes from the Lord, 

the Maker of heaven and earth..." 

(from Psalm 121) 

Keep looking up, to the Son, 

above all that is on this earth, 

through the dark times and the clear times,

and bask in the beauty and wonder 

of being in the presence of God.

silver linings
there is
always, always, always
SOMETHING
to be thankful for

Sand Art-
using layers of different colors of sand create scenes was extremely popular in my younger days.
It was always frustrating to me if the colors blended where I didn't want them to blend.

That last photo sent my thoughts to the sand ceremony in weddings.

The bride and groom each have their own color.

They slowly pour it from “their” container 

into a common container.

The layers are distinct, with minimal blending.

If Bill and I had done the sand ceremony in our wedding

the colors representing his life and mine

would have been be vividly different.

When we  poured them into a jar, 

they probably would have clashed, hardcore.

Over the years, life happened.

We were jostled.

We were shaken.

We were swirled.

We were turned upside down.

We still had our own colors that peeked through.

But life made some of the "layers" less distinct.

Living together created a unique, 

never to be replicated, 

blend and beauty.