“Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever." ~ Psalm 118:29
October’s evening was just a few
minutes old when, without warning, the sky suddenly caught fire. Bennet's spirit soared at the sight as he was
transported into a timeless existence, ready for the protective blanket of
darkness and fresh dreams.
Like a wildfire swept forward by wind, hues of yellow,
orange, and red bounced off ragged clouds like dancing flames. As if God's holy-fire was dancing to the
rhythm of up-tempo Latin beats.
In moments that seemed perpetual, light painted and repainted the clouds in ever-shifting colors, contrasted against the deepening blue sky - as if the lake too had ignited. Birds flew peacefully across the sky; the entire world seemed to be quietly rejoicing in the love and care God exhumed from this day.
The sky summoned a universe of color and emotion in its
fleeting moments as it rushed headlong into a crescendo. While some lose interest, Bennet always
enjoyed taking in the slow, quiet onset of dusk, spreading out like a ground
fog before rising to overtake the sky. The
surge from sunset through nightfall was the best silent film ever made.
He looked to the heavens with a smile on his face and breathed in the cooling fall air. His heart beat with joy; his mind filled with peace; his soul danced with delight.
People around the world are drawn to sunsets, but in places
like Maui, Hawaii, locals embrace the sunset as a daily ritual to give
thanks. Crowds gather to cheer and
applaud it, reinforcing the idea that we should celebrate and be grateful for every
day.
Bennet thanked God for the simple gift of beauty, love, and happiness
that decorated tonight’s horizon. Someone
once said that many people see only one sunset in a thousand. It saddened him to think that these God-given
gifts were being ignored by so many.
It made him wonder about all the other Heavenly gifts that he
unwittingly missed or ignored. Did he
use his arms to hug enough? Did he use
his voice to laugh, his mouth to smile or his feet to dance enough? Should he look harder in the barren, humble places
where others see nothing?
Important questions to consider.
In order to make awareness of beauty a permanent fixture in
your life, we need to practice being mindful and aware. Most of the time we only catch a glimpse of
how amazing things really are before we get sucked back into the monotony of
our routines.
Research suggests that creating a state of constant
awareness of how amazing life is can boost your well-being. Practicing gratitude boosts happiness, sleep
and even patience. Mostly, it brings you
closer to the One who gave them.
