"I Love You"

Not one of those days.

The entire week had been doused in the suffocating ambiance of failure. We owned every reason to be pessimistic, discouraged and even depressed at the lack of progress the month was threatening us with. What really bothered me that day though was the low blow to my peace of mind that satan had taken and my spirit of fighting was getting low. But, then... God cheered on. 

I had never seen such a sunset and for the 360's my head was making it was a miracle, a miracle I tell you, that I did not get in a car accident; But I had to try and grasp every inch of the desert sky to lock into my memory. I have toyed with the popular idea of imagining colors that have never been seen and this sunset... blew all my attempts clear out of the water. Imagine every framed sunset photo scenario on a seamless canvas at once.Shall I attempt to convey? To the west was a rich fairy-gold fire that followed the sun who appeared to leave a trail of color behind its 12 hr trip across the sky. A purple cloud haze layered the open blue atmosphere above (I made due with sticking my head out my window and peering as far up as I could) with lit ethereal pink clouds to the east. Such transitioning hues were impossible to describe and the full blue moon that glowed through those eastern clouds? Let's just say I have never been more of a fan of blue and pink together than in that moment. Both sun and moon were present in their richly colored glory and I couldn't choose which one I liked most. It was like they were doing a dance and their turns and steps were met in that transition with the rest of the earth in symphony and applause. Because each mile I drove was a new landscape of desert mountains that were soaking in what the sky was sharing. Purple, blue, orange and pink overtook familiar mountain and saguaro formations and each mile driven felt like a desperate attempt to be content with the fact that I could neither stop and own nor chase on to achieve each scene that I was viewing. The desert is an incredibly gorgeous place in the winter and words cannot do it justice. And my heart was pitiful in its attempts to express to God and His creation how much in love with it I was. What else could I do? With this song playing and my heart unlocked... I proposed. I did. Perhaps if I memorized more Shakespeare or had the talent of instantly forming my own lyrics to "Just Around the River (mountain) Bend" I could have come up with something more realistic to the emotion. But all I knew was that along that open freeway with countless directions my fairy tale imagination could take off in, I couldn't care less what my day was, my week was, or even this year. I loved that moment, that sunset and I never wanted to leave it.
If you would, take a moment through that sunset and listen to the words of this song and hear His beautiful voice encourage you.

And that, dear friends, is our God.

A sky on fire to whisper His unfailing, "I love you," and such motivation to usher us through the fight.