Morning Glory

I love this photo.  Not just because I took it or because my wife grew the plant or that these spectacular blossoms adorn my home’s screened porch every year.  Those are simply natural consequences of my tremendous regard for this delicate and dazzling flower.

The morning glory (Ipomoea tricolor) is not only my favorite flower, but it  is, in my completely biased and unqualified opinion, one of the most beautiful things on earth.  My favorite species, the one pictured above, is most appropriately named “Heavenly Blue”.  The color of this blossom is so impossibly pure, I am in awe of it.

During the early weeks of summer, the morning glory vines snake their way around whatever support is available, whether a trellis, arbor, or lamppost.  Once the vines mature, anywhere from one to a dozen or more buds unfurl each morning to greet the day with a glorious work of natural art.  On cool mornings, they might emerge later, but their existence inevitably fades with the daylight.

There is an obvious illustration here about the transitory nature of life.  However, I don’t need that truth (and it is a truth that must be faced) for the morning glory to inspire my love for God and His creation.  I merely gaze into the trumpet shaped blossom and know that “this is the day the the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”