Sunrise, Sunset

I absolutely LOVE sunrises and sunsets! (Someday I'll own a Thomas Kincade painting because as "the painter of light" he develops those the best of anyone I've ever seen.)

Frank and I were on our way to a board meeting last night and at 6:20, the sky here in Winter Haven literally exploded with color! It was absolutely incredible. Huge swaths of pink, salmon, purple, blue peeking through, swirls of white. It was truly phenomenal.

I had to stop on the sidewalk and stand for a moment just drinking it in. (Frank is a gracious man. He stood with me while I had my "moment" lest I get distracted and fall off the curb.)

I've been fascinated by the fabulous colors of evenings and early mornings since I was a little girl. North FL is very flat; you can see the edge of forever from your front porch. So getting the full effect of an especially resplendent (there's my word again - smile) sunset was possible most evenings. I would often stand around until the very last bit of color faded away. It meant swatting mosquitoes and bearing the oppressive heat; but for my little girl heart, watching the sky do its magic was well worth the price.

When we lived in the mountains of NC there was only one tiny spot in our house from which sunsets could be seen. Our little home sat at an odd angle and there was a window on the door leading out of our kitchen that afforded a view of the evening painting but only if you held your head just right. And it seemed that the colors were most vibrant in the winter there.

On many cold winter nights, I would excitedly call the girls to our kitchen where I would proceed to hold them up one by one to catch a glimpse of beauty before it could fade away. They, just like their dad, would indulge me with comments like "Uh huh. That's pretty, Mommy." And occasionally I would even get a "Wow!" But I don't know if I fully communicated exactly why this is such a fascination for me.

You see, I think of sunrises and sunsets as a "kiss" from heaven. It's like that little peck you give your spouse just before you leave or the quick "hi-honey-I'm-home" kiss. Serious smooching is reserved for other times but quick kisses serve the purpose of saying, "I really do think of you all the time and this is just to remind you of that fact."

And so it is with the colors of early morning and late evening. They are visible for us only briefly but they are incredibly powerful in their intensity. I drink them in and they refresh my soul because for me they are God's intentional attempt to say, "I'm thinking of you all the time; just wanted to remind you of that!" Whew, what a kiss for all the world.

It reminds me of the scripture that says, "The heavens declare your wonder!"

This evening, if it isn't cloudy where you live, step outside for a moment and enjoy a kiss from heaven. He really is thinking of us all the time! Wow!