Generation NeXt Parenting

Guest Blogger...Judy Fedele

Chasing the Sunset


Through a break in the clouds I caught a brief glimpse of sunlight while heading out to get some last-minute groceries. I was pushing myself to do this one final errand for the day, exhausted and only half aware as the streets slid by. The sky was drearily overcast, the kind of unbroken gray cloud cover typical this time of year. But driving west the gray haze suddenly broke open to reveal a beautiful sight. The clouds were fantastically lit from behind with the sun blazing radiantly through them.

I was mesmerized, staring ahead at the unexpected vision, waiting for the traffic light to turn so I could. In my mind-numbed condition, even my thoughts were reduced to monosyllabic grunting. “Nice sky” grappled with “Need food”. A notion, fleeting as a sunbeam in Syracuse, surfaced. “What if?” it asked. “What if? I didn’t turn left, didn’t go to the store, but instead kept on going straight and chased after that beautiful sunset?” How far could I travel before the sun was swallowed up by the night? My car could never move fast enough to keep it always before me. Wishful thinking. But I realized that it was based on a deeper longing within me. The endless gray skies I drove under seemed to mirror the dull grayness I felt inside myself.

When we run on empty we tend to grasp at anything to keep us going - even wishful thinking. A simple sunset moved me so much, but I know that its beauty pointed to something greater, to Someone greater. In the beauty of nature God often allows us glimpses of Himself to draw our sight upward and onto Him.

I came across a phrase in an article recently that really hit home: “Living careless and prayerless.” You can’t expect to drive on the spiritual scenic route without finding your purpose and meaning in the Lord. I wanted to chase after that sunset, that intangible thing, because I had lost my focus on God. But I know that if I put my whole heart and mind into seeking Him, then my attitude should surely follow. As I truly follow the Son.

posted by Tricia Goyer @ 10:09 AM