The Silver Lining

Tonight Jackson beckoned me to join him as he watched the sun dip into the horizon. I LOVE that our five year old thoroughly appreciates the breathtaking beauty of sunsets over the majestic sea. Since our arrival in SEA, we all have marveled at the splendor of varying hues filling the sky at day's end. Crimson reds, tangerine oranges, golden yellows, and tanzanite blues fill our spacious skies each evening with an undeniable display of God's handiwork.

However, tonight was special, surreal, almost otherworldly. Tonight I witnessed my first silver sunset. I'm not quite certain how the sun cast off its brilliant golden halo and donned a robe of silver radiance. But it did. And I sat entranced, unable to relinquish my gaze from what may have been the most beautiful panorama of creation I've ever witnessed.

I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. I sat in awe of a majestic sky. Mesmerized I thought to myself, “Tonight, this sunset is just for me.” Have you ever been there? You know, that place where a moment in time was created so that you may glean joy, or hope, or enlightenment. Well, I found myself there tonight.

I had seen the sun set hundreds, maybe even thousands of times, and yet tonight it was different. It was lovely, radiant, and wonderfully glorious. And as I gazed at the silver thread of light fading into the violet abyss tears rolled down my face. Not because I was moved by the beauty of the moment, but because I was moved by the reality of the moment. Seeing the sun as I had never seen it before spoke to a place deep within me that struggles with doubt regarding hope for the people of SEA.

My mind's eye filled with people I've befriended who question their eternity, their faith, their very existence. I saw faces filled with despair. And while I know God cares about these people, and I know He does not want them to perish, it is at times difficult to get this simple truth from my head to my heart. When one witnesses the darkness and the poverty that oppresses these people day in and day out, it is easy to wonder if they will ever know true joy, true hope.

Tonight that still, small voice spoke sweetly to my soul. How many times have I seen the sunset? And yet tonight, after ALL this time, it was different. It was uniquely radiant. Likewise, how many times have I seen the faces of despair? And yet, after ALL this time, they too can be different. Those faces can be uniquely radiant.

Not long before sunset, clouds prematurely darkened the day. Rain filled the air with what seemed like tears from a somber sky. Yet silver light transformed a dreary canvas into a transcendent masterpiece. What a marvelous illustration of how His light can transform dismal lives into portraits illuminated with merriment and promise.