La Sol...

Firstly, yesterday was a miserable day as far as the weather was concerned. Ridiculous winds, the strongest in over a decade, roared across most of Britain. Many schools in Scotland shut down as it was unsafe for the buses to operate in the 120-160mph gales. Around nightfall here in Cambridge, a freezing rain decided to join the bone-chilling gusts and pepper our windows with what sounded like sleet. Needless to say, I did not leave the house all day. No reason to get out in that stuff. I had pretty much resigned myself to the thought, "Welcome to winter in England!" and was already beginning to despair about how horrible it will be to go sight-seeing with our families over Christmas in such despicable conditions. Then, upon waking this morning, hope literally came out of the blue...the blue sky, that is. It was a gorgeous day! (Need I invoke the lyrical powers of U2 again?) Of course, I don't expect the beauty of today to be the norm over the coming months, but it was a much appreciated respite from yesterday's weather.

I decided it worthwhile to travel to the Graduate Student Center (where we ate Thanksgiving lunch) to sit in the café on the top floor while I caught up on my Beth Moore Bible study. Over a cup of cappuccino and a scrumptious blueberry muffin, I spent most of my afternoon reading the Word, learning about Paul, and being warmed by the rays shining through the panoramic windows.
It was divine.

The Grad Center is not the most attractive building, but the views from inside make up for that.

As I was reading I heard Michael Buble singing "I Wanna Go Home," and my first reaction was, "No I don't!" It was a triumphant little moment. I knew family would be wrapping their arms around me in a little over a week, so for now, I could just enjoy being surrounded by beautiful scenery and filled with wisdom and blueberry goodness. The swans in the canals below the windows were also entertaining me. I watched them swim unabashedly up to these people who promptly obliged with some snacks. When the swans had their fill, they swam away and found a spot near the sidewalk for a nap.

Sorry for the reflection. I took these photos with my iPad, so they weren't the best quality. But can you tell how huge these swans were? Even from four stories up, they looked impressive.

About the time I was contemplating removing my sweater because the sunshine was actually too warm, the cheery woman behind the counter announced to anyone listening, "Well, that's lookin' a bit dodgy, ain't it?" and motioned toward the sky. (Loved that phrasing, by the way.) But, bummer, she was right. The clouds were moving back in. And they were looking pretty ominous. Not like thunder clouds (to be honest, I'm not sure thunderstorms even happen here) but more like definite cold and rainy clouds. However, when I saw a few rays forcing their way through, shooting out in every direction, I was suddenly overcome.

The rays were much more definitive before they had to travel through my iPad camera lens. Please note the little white blob on the left side of the sidewalk - that's one of the snoozing swans.

My God, how great You are! I know I always relate back to song lyrics, but I can't help it. I thought of multiple Phil Wickham songs, but these few lines kept coming back to me:

"I see Your face in every sunrise,

The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes,

The world awakens in the light of the day,

I look up to the sky and say, 'You're beautiful.'"

Maybe it's because that song holds such a dear place in my heart as the one I will forever associate with my wedding day, or maybe it's because it refers to the anticipation of that day when our Bridegroom will come for us... either way, I always think of those words when I see a beautiful sunrise or sunset. The impending rain and blotting out of the sun signaled a good time to depart and run some errands before total darkness fell. I headed down King's Parade toward the market and made a few impromptu stops into some gift shops. This one particular shop called Ark always has really enticing window displays. Their most recent one reminds me of one that I composed this summer at Glamour Gowns & More in Broken Arrow.

Ark... branches and tissue paper pom poms... they are so behind the times. I totally used those same props back in June. Wish i had a picture on my computer to prove it! 

As I emerged from the shops and rounded the corner to get back on my bike, this striking explosion in the sky came into view.

It seriously looked like something had just blown up, but it was the sun setting behind King's Chapel. Once again, "bursting forth in glorious day," God showed His handiwork.

All the way home I was followed by the gorgeous hues. I pulled over one more time to try and capture the moment.

Psalm 19:1-6

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
   the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;
   night after night they reveal knowledge.

They have no speech, they use no words;
   no sound is heard from them.

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
   their words to the ends of the world. 

In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 

It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
   like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

It rises at one end of the heavens
   and makes its circuit to the other;
   nothing is deprived of its warmth."

He will forever reign in brilliant light. All glory and honor and power is His. Amen.