It’s wonderful when a plan becomes a reality.  Retirement has always felt so far away.  I’ve hoped for it…longed for it amid the pressures, anxiety and yes, the joy of ministry.  Through it all the dream of retirement has been there…the dream of a time when I can follow my call to capture moments of beauty through photography…a time when I have the opportunity to write for pleasure…when I feel like it…without a deadline…a time when I can awake in the morning, walk the dog and take a bike ride without feeling the butterflies in the stomach because of a meeting, a pressing concern or a thousand details to oversee.  Retirement, a new community, new home, family nearby, fun projects to entertain the heart and the mind is a reality.  Blessings abound.

I couldn’t help but be captivated by the simple beauty and tenacity of the Morning Glories that have sought the sun by climbing the corn stalks at the edge of the field across from our new home.  Slowly but surely their vines have crept around the stalks climbing ever higher in search of light until at last they blossom into beauty.  Perhaps we can learn a thing or two from the Morning Glories when it comes rising above the ordinary, the hum drum and the crowd that is satisfied clinging to the safety of limited vision.  Seek the sun…the light…tenaciously rise ever higher to capture a new view of the world around and who knows maybe, just maybe our lives will at last burst into beauty.