Sunday, April 2, 2017

My husband and I were having our morning coffee and talking about the day:  "The sun is coming down the trees," he said.  "How far down?" I asked and he responded, "About one-third the way down."

I got up from my chair and went to the french doors.  Looking through the glass panes towards the west, I saw the miracle we see every day the sun shines.  At 6:51 a.m., the sun was down about one-third of the way on the Juniper trees.

April 2, 2017: 6:51 a.m.

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow." 
- Helen Keller

April 2, 2017:  7:00 a.m.

"Every second, the sun converts 657 million tons of hydrogen into 653 million tons of helium by a process called nuclear fusion.  The missing 4 million tons of mass are converted into energy and hurled into space as heat and light.  The Earth intercepts only about one two-billionth of this energy, or about 4 pounds worth of the vanished matter.  The sun never misses so tiny a fraction of its huge bulk, but to the Earth that 4 pounds worth of energy every second is the difference between day and night... winter and summer...death and life."  - 365 Starry Nights

April 2, 2017:  7:11 a.m.

"Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World."
- Christopher Columbus

April 2, 2017:   7:31 a.m.

In the first two photographs, approximately 10 minutes elapsed.  Between this photo and the one taken at 7:11 a.m., 20 minutes elapsed.  I wonder the formula it would take to calculate the distance the sun travelled on this tree line in the space of 10 minutes and in the space of 20 minutes.  In that space of time, we finished our first cup of coffee and poured a second cup; Molly and Toby finished their first breakfast.

April 2, 2017:  7:51 a.m.

Without any calculations of mankind, the Earth leans into its curve as it makes its journey around the Sun.  Without any programming from mankind, the Sun starts to climb higher into the sky and its rays hit the Earth's surface more directly in the northern hemisphere and the Earth responds.  On this day I am reminded of the scripture "The heavens do declare the glory of God and the sky does proclaim His handiwork." (Psalms 19:1)   

I must remember the next time there is a cloudy day and my husband and I are drinking our coffee, the Sun is shining and its rays are coming down the tree line, whether I see them or not.  There is comfort in knowing that.