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Day 53: Morning Glories



May 7, 2020

From early spring to the end of summer the view from my east facing kitchen window in the morning is truly a beautiful picture. A vine of purple morning glories lays like a blanket across the canopy of trees. The gorgeous pop of the royal purple flowers against the dark green leaves is irresistible to the eyes as the sun slowly creeps up behind it. As the day heats up the flowers wilt and close. I always thought they reopened the next morning and kind of thought of myself as a “morning glory”, if I was a flower. I’m definitely at my best in the morning. But while fact checking my knowledge of this flower I discovered that is not what is actually happening. The flowers I admire each morning actually only live one day. Each morning I am looking at a whole new set of flowers. My original thoughts about today’s blog were to comment on resilience and coming back from adversity like the beautiful flowers that disappear and then (I thought) reappear each day outside my window. It kind of made me sad to Google this fact. I had to reframe my thoughts. So I read a few more “morning glory” facts. There are over 1000 types of flowers labeled as “morning glories”. They come in a wide variety of colors. (I like mine the best.) The vines can grow to a height of 10 feet or more depending on the support structure. That fact changed my focus. While the flowers definitely deserve the attention they get, they would be nowhere without the vine. My vine’s support structure is a group of 30-foot tall oak trees and it has been weaving its way across this foundation for years. It’s “glories” may be fleeting but it’s foliage is prolific. Just like God’s love for us. It is vast. It is always there even when we take it for granted. Now when I look out in the morning at the gorgeous purple blooms, I will remember to also admire their vine. Without it they could not exist, not even for a day. This verse is from “The Message” translation of the Bible. Lamentations 3:22-24: “God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I’m sticking with GOD (I say it over and over). He’s all I’ve got left.” Psalm 143:8 says: “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.” It’s a brand new day! Smile and be joyful!



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