Peninsula Point Lighthouse, Michigan

“Papa, don’t you ever get bored?” Sonny watched his father, Capt. James Armstrong, hang the curtains around the beacon as the sun rose over the horizon.

“Bored? No. Why would I?”

“I dunno. You do the same thing every day. Clean the lantern, light it at dark, hang the curtains in the daytime and take them down at night.” Sonny pointed to the curtains sheltering the beacon from the hot sun. “Seems like you’d get tired of doing and seeing the same things.”

Capt. Armstrong finished his task, then stepped outside on the gallery surrounding the Peninsula Point Lighthouse on Lake Michigan. He motioned to his son. “Come out here, Sonny.”  He stretched both arms out wide. “What do you see?”

“Just water.” The boy joined his father and looked up at him. “There’s nothing but water to look at, Papa.”

“Are you sure?” Capt. Armstrong smiled down at his son.

“Yes, Papa. Just water.” The boy scanned the horizon. “Well, I know there’s fish out there, but I can’t see them.”

“Just keep looking. Expect to see something new and different each day, and I promise you, you will.” His papa gave him a wink.

The next day, Sonny noticed a flock of geese forming a “V” as they flew by. “Papa, look!” He motioned to the birds as his father nodded and smiled.

On the following day, he watched the sun set in a blaze of vivid streaks of color across the sky. “I’ve never seen so many pretty colors, Papa!”

“God is a Master Painter, Sonny. The sky is His canvas. Isn’t it glorious?”

“It is, Papa. It is!”

Day after day, Sonny saw new things as he watched with expectant eyes. One day, thousands of butterflies converged on the peninsula, flitting and fluttering around the lighthouse. “Papa! Look at all the butterflies! Where did they come from?”

“Those are Monarch butterflies. They’re migrating, flying farther south like the birds do, to avoid the freezing winter.” The father and his son stood on the gallery watching the winged insects which seemed to come from every direction.

“Papa, you were right. When I started expecting to see something new, I did.”

Capt. Armstrong grinned and gave his son a hug. “So you see now why I don’t get bored? Our God loves us and gives us something new to see every day. We just have to open our eyes and expect the blessings.”

 “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” Psalm 90:14