A bright, blue, and sunny sky greets me this morning. How wonderful is that?? This is the first morning in about nine days that is like this and it is certainly a spirit shot in the arm. Thank you, Lord, for a gorgeous morning. And, --- to top it all off, --- I have nothing on my schedule today and it is my "day off". I may just sit here for a couple of hours, watch my birds and wait for the temperature to move up into the sixties and then do some yard work. It is 54° right now and 64° sounds a lot better.

I spent several hours at the hospital yesterday sitting with the family of a parishioner. My parishioner was having surgery to remove a significant cancerous spot from her lung. The surgery went well and we pray the doctors got it all out. It is an interesting thing to sit with families at a time like that. We sat together in the waiting room for maybe three and a half hours. The conversation among the husband/father and the three adult children and spouses covered everything from farming to hunting, to scouting and passing around pictures of grandkids. But --- in the entire time, not one word was mentioned about why we were there. We had said a prayer together before she went off to the operating room and that was the last they spoke of her surgery until the doctor came out several hours later. I found that to be an interesting family dynamic; not right or wrong, --- just interesting. It is not unusual to see that dynamic happen either. Families generally will either talk the issue to death in the waiting room or they will avoid conversation about what is going on as if they might jinx something if they talk about it. Of course, as a pastor, I wonder if it is related to a strength of faith. It would be nice to believe that not talking about it equals a faith that says; "God has this and I'm not going to worry about it." And, since it is my turn to wear the rose colored glasses, --- I'll just take that as my explanation.

The birds are enjoying the sunshine this morning too. I'm loving the way the sun is making their plumage brighter this morning. I had a Song Sparrow out here earlier and it was really adding to the glory of God's world in my backyard. The Friday morning garbage trucks have passed by on both the streets in front of and behind our house and now peace and quiet reigns. An occasional gust of wind blows leaves off of the trees and I can hear them swirling on the roof of the sunporch. But, beyond that; God's world, and therefore, my world, is at peace.

I give God thanks for that peace this morning and for the peace within my soul. I thank God for knowlegeable surgeons who have been given the knowlege to help people like my lady from the church, and my brother-in-law. I thank God for the indominable spirits of those who suffer from such horrible things as cancer and also for those family members who stand with them and walk that dark road, never knowing where the path may lead and yet, giving all their trust to the one true light that is God, our Father and Creator.

I hope your life is filled with that kind of trust today. Have a blessed day.