Heads Up

I’ll admit it: I love the sunsets here in our part of the country. We get a beautiful show every night, and there are never re-runs.

Tonight’s performance didn’t disappoint. Have you ever noticed the color of dusk when the sky might rain, but hasn’t made up its mind? About 30 minutes before dusk is my favorite time of day anyway, so things were pretty already. This evening we were bathed in a rosy, yellowy glow. It was almost eerie, yet too pretty for me to mind. I sure wish it had actually rained–we need it so badly here–and the scent outside even teased with moisture for awhile.

While I glanced briefly at the sky, God reminded me to slow down and take it all in. I had been shuttling laundry back and forth to our semi-detached laundry room facing the backyard, and I was writing a growing mental list of household chores I really wanted to tackle tonight. And normally I don’t like spending much time in our backyard. It’s a testament to our two failed attempts at starting a nice lawn.

…But the clouds were irresistible! I had to stop. To the east gray clouds grumbled with pent up rain; to the west an unbelievable turquoise sky begged to be admired. In between the two, I couldn’t take my eyes off of the most unique, puffy little white clouds. If they had been separate…well, nothing to write home about. But together, they looked woven like the feathers on the underside of an angel’s huge wing–at least, what I imagine angels’ wings look like. The edge of the “wing” made a diagonal line across the sky, almost like the wing was sheltering our town, yet letting us glimpse God’s glory in the blue sky. (That made sense in my mind.) =)

I called David out to see it, too. He enjoyed the view with his camera lens, and I enjoyed the breeze. It was a simple, amazing moment to relax in God’s beauty. I felt almost childlike as wondered at the gift of sight and beautiful colors all around us. I’m so glad that God slowed me down, giving me a “heads up.”