Looking up

It's 7am on a Wednesday, and things are about to be set in fast motion in this house, but I feel the need to pause this morning and look up.

A month ago Tim and I visited Mount Magazine in Arkansas for our anniversary. I'm about a hundred years behind on pictures so with any luck, I'll post more of that trip or the subsequent ones soon, but for now, I just wanted to focus on the beautiful sunset we witnessed the night before we left.

The picture doesn't do it justice, but the sunset was spectacular. The way the sun sliced through the thin clouds and behind that mountain ridge reminded me of Utah sunsets, which honestly I don't believe you'll find anywhere else. The colors were vibrant orange and pink. It was as if the rest of the sky took a knee in honor of the setting sun, and we, the passersby, naturally fell in reverence too.

I set my heart by sunrises and sunsets. It would be easy to miss them, but I make a point to check my phone each night to see when the sun will rise and set the next day. I try, as much as possible, to take a moment to look up as the time approaches because I know the sky will not fail me. It never has; it never will.

Sunrises/sunsets remind me of God's love for me. In them, I see His majesty. In them, I see His greatness. In them, I see His creativity. They whisper to me to be still--something I rarely am, and they remind me that I am never alone.

Over the past week, I have felt an immense amount of God's love for me. My heart has been full to the brim with joy, and I am so grateful to know who I am and my purpose on this earth. I am a daughter of divinity. A part of Him is in me. He is always with me. He is always mindful of my struggles, even if it doesn't immediately seem that way. He is also aware of my successes. I cannot tell you how often I have felt His stamp of approval on my efforts of changing my pessimistic heart to one of optimism. I feel Him when I laugh at myself. Sometimes I think He must have a good laugh too. And because He knows me, I feel Him wait with me when I am down. I think He knows better than to pick me up immediately. Together, we rise when I am ready.

God is good. He is real, and He is there. And He is my father and my friend.