Beyond The Sunset

I love chasing the sunset!

I have always loved beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Ever since my vision improved in 2016 to Better Than Ever before and I started to ponder the makeup of sunsets in my quest to discover the reach of my new visual acuity, I’ve loved them even more. I’m the crazy lady who monitors late afternoon cloud cover and runs out the door as the sun dips to the horizon to, what I term, “chase the sunset.” Then I take pictures and share them with a close friend in Illinois or splash them across my Facebook page.

Why do I love sunsets so much?

I share many of the reasons in the chapter “Sunrise” in my book, With Fresh Eyes. Sunrises and sunsets boast of the lavish love of God and the extravagance of His riches. They are ever changing and always original, showing off the infinite creativity of their Creator.

Long after my book was published, my evening ritual continues. In recent days, I find myself focusing more on the two elements most needed to make a sunset: clouds and light.

You need both to make a decent sunset.

Sometimes, cloud cover can be so thick, no beams break through. It’s only when light pushes apart the clouds that beautiful colors streak the sky. I’ll look at a hole of blue framed by scattering clouds that are highlighted by reflected and refracted light, and wonder: Is this what the sky will look like when Jesus comes again?

And I realize the spiritual dimension of my chase.

Way back in my teenage years, Deacon Doug Johnson loved to hear me play one particular song as an offertory. It was the old hymn, Beyond the Sunset. Doug would walk past the piano en route to the rows of pews to pass the offering plates, and I could him hum to my notes:

Beyond the sunset,

Oh blissful morning

When with our Savior

Heaven is begun.

“Beyond the sunset” by Blanche Kerr Brock, virgil Brock, and albert Kennedy Rowswell, 1936

Our world’s current chaos, confusion, and corruption makes me long for Jesus’ return. Oh, I so want Jesus to bring justice to the earth. I want Eden restored. I want to dwell in Heaven where holiness reigns, a world where no clouds of darkness obscure the light of righteousness. I long for a land where the gray of clouds will no longer hang over my life and the lives of those I love. A home where our enemy is powerless to put any obstacle between me and my Lord. The light of Jesus will be more bright and beautiful than any sunrise or sunset. It truly will be better than ever.

And so my journey each night become practice sprints. I’m running toward the light beyond the clouds. I’m longing, yearning for the glories of Heaven that will finally overcome all darkness and, in the process, splinter the clouds into a thousand different hues of color. I’m running toward the light that shines eternally beyond the sunset. I’m ready to see Jesus in all His glory.

Oh, Jesus come! Come quickly! Come, Lord Jesus!