Morning glory

"Arise, shine, for your light has come; and the glory of God shall break upon you." [Isaiah]

Not all of our morning glories did well this year; the purple ones under the crab apple tree, for example, just didn't get enough light. But the one you see above has been having a blast all summer. She's "glory-ous" indeed; her electric blue trumpets announce a new day every morning. And what a great message that is.

Every day these flowers appear, looking a lot like they did the day before. But they are not the same. Recognizable, yes; we know they are morning glories. But something changes every day, and by now the plant looks nothing at all like the frail little shoot that poked out of the ground several months ago.

And that's the way we are meant to be, too. A little shift here, a new leaf there, a bit more stretch, a little bend around the pillar, a tiny lean toward the sun. A minimal difference each day seems hardly noticeable. But over time all those little shifts and bends and stretches mold us into the beauties God had in mind. Every morning really is a new day — a new opportunity to step into our greatness, a new chance to begin afresh, a clean slate upon which to write our lives.

Arise, shine — let the glory of God break upon you.