Pre-dawn Colours! - signature of Faith!

African Sunrises and Sunsets have a reputation for being spectacular!

One of the benefits of living on the side of 'our' rocky hill is the slight elevation that is mostly lacking in the flat desert land of Botswana.  And that elevation gives us quite an extensive view, especially of the sunrises.

This dry season is of course dry and dusty and our view in the daytime includes a fairly distinguishable line a short distance above the horizon and the buildings of Gaborone, where the sky colour turns from a dirty dull sandy brown colour to a pale blue.

But this dry season is particularly dusty after a few very dry years.  The air is so dusty, especially over the city, that the sunrises have been unusually colourful.  The only other time I have known such colourful sunrises was a couple of decades ago in Australia when a volcano somewhere in Asia erupted and the dust particles in the air resulted in the most amazing sunrises.

This morning, we were treated to such a sunrise - or should I say prelude to the sunrise as the lights of the city still flickered in the partial darkness.  Sadly I wasn't quick enough with the camera to catch the initial intensity of brightness and fiery colours in the sky, but these pre-dawn photos might give you some idea at least!

Such a pre-dawn spectacular reminds me of Scripture's definition of the faith we have in Christ - the 'substance of things hoped for - the evidence of things not seen" - ours is a sure hope. (Hebrews 11:1)  We don't yet have the fulness of  our new life  with redeemed bodies and the glory of heaven.  But our hope is not in vain, we can be sure it will come. Why? Because we have the 'substance' now of the things hoped for.  We have left the depth of the darkness and have been lifted up to enjoy, see the beauty and be a part of the light of the 'pre-dawn'.  The pre-dawn light display in the sky announces the reality of the fullness of the sunrise that is definitely coming! 

I also think it is a great analogy that the dustier the circumstances the greater the beauty of the sky because the greater the particles for the light to 'bounce' off!!

Impala Lily

Just wanted to let you have a quick look at a flower currently in bloom in our garden - the Impala Lily.  It's the first flowering season we have had it and the flower is just beautiful!  God's creation never ceases to cause us to worship Him!

Hidden Butterfly Beauty

"O Lord, how manifold are your works!

In wisdom you have made them all:

The earth is full of your creatures"  Psalm 104:24

There is a lot of hidden beauty of God's creation in the bush!

The seasons are beginning to change here and the butterflies are in abundance.  Botswana has a myriad of butterfly 'designs'!

These beautiful little insects  which only have a lifespan on average of about a month come in so many colours and patterns.

But as I took the time to watch them and tried to photograph them, what struck me was how different the top side of their wings can be to the bottom side.  So for most of them when their wings are 'closed' they look one colour/design and when they are 'open' they can look entirely different.  The 'closed' position is usually more plain and fairly well camouflaged.  The 'open' position is usually stunningly beautiful and full of rich colour markings.

I wish I could share with you pictures of all the butterflies I've seen in the last few days, but they mostly move so quickly that they are very difficult to photograph.  However, I did manage to capture a few shots to share.

Here is the first butterfly with wings tightly closed and well camouflaged

here are two - just to show how well hidden they are with wings closed

A closer look shows even the 'plain' and camouflaged outside of the wings still has a degree of beautiful markings....

But when the wings start to open the vibrant colours really become evident

And when the wings are fully open - wow!

Then here is a second butterfly - who is very plain on the outside with wings closed and well camouflaged on white flowers

But inside has a surprise!

And if you get the angle of the light right, the colour becomes a deep rich orange

Unfortunately these were the only two that I could get both 'closed' and 'open' photos, but here are a few more photos of some others that were fluttering around and managed to stop long enough for me to photograph!