Virtual Ocean Bay Sunset: a Surprise in the Setting

Sunrise, sunset, swiftly flow the days... 

Each morning at the beach, I experience sunrise after sunrise over the ocean, each one, unique and special and "speaking." But I remember one evening, I unexpectedly witnessed a sunset over the bay. The horizon wasn't quite as straight and "uncluttered" as that of the ocean, but oh my! It was pretty close.

And the way it impacted me was surprising. Instead of my usual focus on the rising of the sun, signaling the beginning of the new day and the corresponding "fresh mercies," there I was watching that same sun disappearing into the horizon. Just hours before it had been "moving" in the opposite direction (or so it seemed).

So wow! A new message in that same fiery ball. But this time, the message was gratitude -- gratitude for the gift of the day that had unfolded, gratitude for the people encountered, gratitude for the lessons learned, gratitude for even the trials that tested -- all those had been matched with those fresh mercies by our faithful, unchanging, indwelling God.   

And so in those final moments of my day, I remembered God's love and acceptance and faithfulness ... I had lived my day in His total forgiveness in Christ. I recalled His indwelling Presence as He carried my burdens (as I let Him). And so as usual, I prayed Jesus' final prayer from the Cross, the prayer that He most likely prayed at His mother's knee as a child, 

Father, Into Your hands I commit my spirit. Amen.

Sunrise, sunset, Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze
Sunrise, sunset, Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears

Sunset from the bay, September 16, 2018, Long Beach Island, NJ