When the Sun Goes Down

A couple nights ago, we took a ferry across the water from Bremerton to Seattle. BEAUTIFUL trip. To make it even better, the sun was slowly sinking into the Olympic mountain range, so the world glowed with an orange hue. Then that moment comes- the radiance suddenly lifts as the sun hides below the horizon.
Taking a breath, I immediately tried to remember what I felt just seconds ago, what I had seen. The memory made me smile. But I could not feel it as keenly as when I was experiencing it.

And I thought about how rich I am.

How rich He has made me in the blessing of special moments, special places, special people.

Just like the setting of the sun, all of these incredible gifts are two things:
1) Incredible gifts!
2) Fading

When I soak up the warmth of the gifts He has placed all around me, I am able to find enjoyment in this life He has given me. Too often I've taken advantage of them, perhaps with the notion that they would last, and last in an unchanging manner- whether it be a moment, or a place to make a memory, or a relationship. The challenge then lies here: do I believe that the setting of the sun, or the changing of a gift if you will, is a lessening of His blessing? Do I believe He is taking it away from me and casting me into a season of shivering and longing for the warmth of that direct sunlight? Or can I see the beauty at dusk? (Ok, it's no secret that dusk has long been the time of day I hate most... try being a grumpy teenager weeding in the garden at dusk. So hard to see that I end up putting whole handfuls of soil into the yardwaste container...)

When the sun goes down, will I choose to remain thankful?
When the sun goes down, will my vision change?
When the sun goes down, will I keep breathing in and out?
When the sun goes down, will He remain faithful?

Like anything in life, the season and the perspective changes. A gift I was given and held onto dearly and cherished and rejoiced in... might reshape and change over time. That doesn't make it any less of a gift. Nor does that mean I should toss it out, like tossing out the good soil along with the weeds. I have the opportunity to grow and change along with it, and to embrace it in its new form. I have the good challenge to accept it for what it is now.