I woke up early this morning and went outside to water my plants. I looked up and I could just glimpse the corner of the sunrise. I dropped the hose and went as quickly as I could to take in the whole thing. I knew I had to go fast because you have such a short window of opportunity with a sunrise. You can’t believe how much things change in just minutes! These weren’t taken days apart. These pictures were taken in a 10 minute time span. 
I wanted it to stay like it was in the first pictures. The longing to make it last even just one more minute was so strong it was like a physical feeling. I didn’t want the brilliant orange and the amazing deep pink to fade away. I wanted to stay and bask in the brightness of the sun. I didn’t want to let the gray sky take it’s place for the day. I realized this morning that I often look at my life the same way. I want the amazing ‘sunrises’ to stay. The rare beautiful times when every one is getting along and the sun is bright and the sky is so blue. The ones when it almost hurts to feel all of the love I have. The ones when everything seems at peace and I am momentarily content. Those minutes when I say to myself, “I never want to forget how I feel right now. I wish everything could stay just like it is.” But those times are fleeting, just like the most brilliant part of the sunrise. When they are gone, I start to compare my more mundane times to them and they just come up lacking. But this morning it was so clear to me that all of these have their own beauty. Even the regular ‘gray’ hours with their bickering, and their laundry, and their tears. If I had seen the last photo without comparing it to the first I would have thought it was so beautiful. It is the comparison that makes me see it just as plain. On the other hand with out the drab moments would we even notice the beauty of the unusual ones? I want to just take each day, even each minute for what it is. Find what makes it beautiful and let that be enough. And when it’s not, I can remind myself that another spectacular sunrise will come. But in the meantime I will be content, not matter what color the sky is.
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Psalm 118:24
Beautifully said Joy! The way the sunrise or sunset changes so quickly reminds me of God’s Word about how our life can vanish like a mist or fog (James 4:14) or how our life is like a handbreath (Psalm 39:5). Thank you for reminding me how quickly things can change or disappear and to appreciate every moment we have! Life is so precious. I love that you keep your eyes on the heavens and try to fix your mind on things above. I love your honesty that life is not always a beautiful sunset (so true) but that you find your strength in the joy of the Lord. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your beautiful photos. Amazing!
Thank you Cathy!
I love those moments when the Lord chooses to reveal truth! It’s a beautiful analogy!
Me too Cynthia!