Sunny Days {Against the Backdrop of Gray}…
For anyone whose ever lived on the West Coast, you will identify with winters filled with gray skies. It comes with the territory.
But the last few days, we’ve woken up to this:
Ahhhh…. Take-my-breath-away, beautiful blue skies. If only my photography skills could more accurately portray how beautiful it really is… {I’m still working on that.}
As I’ve been soaking up the white caps of those mountains, and how the sun shimmers on the water, I got to thinking about weather… and how it sort of symbolizes life in general.
For you know, if we never had gray days…
we wouldn’t appreciate the sunny, blue-sky ones.
If we never experienced sorrow…
we wouldn’t even know how to recognize joy.
Light itself is more vivid and visible against the back drop of “dark”.
Photography is an example of that. It is the contrasts – the tension between light and dark – that makes a photo captivating and beautiful.
And that, is what life is, too. I think we’d all choose sunny days over the gray ones in life. But in reality, it is the gray days that shape our character. It is the gray days that teach us to make choices that aren’t always easy. It is the gray days that cause us to grow. It is the gray days that teach us compassion. It is the gray days that make us grateful for the sunny ones. It is the gray days that make us realize we are totally and utterly dependant on God.
For it is only through Him that we can experience TRUE 
… even on the gray days.
It reminds me of an old song:
“God hath not promised skies always blue, flower strewn pathways, all the day through.
God hath not promised sun without rain, Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
BUT God has promised…
strength for the day, Rest for the labour, light for the way
grace for the trials, help from above.”
{Lyrics by Annie Johnson Flint 1866-1932}
I don’t know what the weather is in your neck of the woods (Hopefully some sunshine is on its way!)…
But here, today, I’m rejoicing in this blue sky…
And grateful to the One who gives me breath to enjoy it.
Linking To: Serenity Now
Isn’t this absolute truth! And you scenery photography is stunning! What do you use for your photo editing? Have a wonderful day! Keep us in prayer this weekend as we are companying the youth to Indianapolis for an all night activity. We leave around 5:00 tonight and get home tomorrow morning around 9:00… thankfully it is only an hour drive and we are blessed with drivers who make the trip down in the morning so we don’t have to drive while asleep! 🙂
Wow! Sounds like an exciting weekend. You might need a big ol’ nap when you get home!:) For these pictures I did a little editing with Picassa (made the sky bluer in the first one and added a little fill light in a few of the others). I’m trying to get the hang of Photoshop, but when I want to do something quickly, Picassa (which is free, by the way!) is always my “go to” editing program.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on gray . Where I live a lot of the winter days are also filled with gray gray skies. Like the song says….”God hath not promised sun without rain, Joy without sorrow, peace without pain”. Thanks for the reminder of what a great and loving God we have, He is always caring for us.
Your photos are so pretty, I love the view in the first photo. What a joy it must be to look out your window and see that view each day! You have a true “picture window”.
Have a great weekend!
Very good point!! Thanks for sharing! Beautiful pictures!
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