A Winter Sunset Promises A Summer Day

A mid November sunset fades across the horizon, pulling color out of the day. As the last rays of oranges and pinks surrender to the twilight, only blue is left to paint the hills. Soon enough, it too will give way to black night.

Still, for a few short, calm moments, that cold blue dominates the landscape. As it coats the forests and the fields, the houses and the highways, it reminds us all that, not only is another day giving in but so is another season. It is all too clear that the brief and brilliant colors of fall have finally turned loose. As they go, the promise of a long winter’s nap – something so perfect and planned in the economy of nature – is even closer now than it was at sunrise.

Yet, while the cold blue of a November sunset tells of chilly days ahead, we can take solace in knowing the earth is merely sleeping. It rests beneath a winter’s blanket for now, so that it can warm us under summer skies later.

Yes indeed, summer comes back. It always has. It always does. And sparkling greens and warm blues and reds and oranges and yellows and busy bees and honeysuckle and smells and sounds come with it. All are well rested.

Surely every season testifies to the fact that, sometime, somewhere in our future, there will be a land of eternal light. There will be endless days of warmth where the four-leaf clovers practically find us and the colors of the landscape are all new -- special colors the Creator has reserved for “some glad morning” in the “Sweet Bye and Bye.”

Until then, He gives us sunsets … as well as sunrises. Until then, He gives us fall, winter, spring and yes, summer. Together, they all teach us about passing times and changing seasons; about life and death, warmth and cold, sunburns and frostbites; cold mornings and warm evenings. We experience it all in our lives and in nature itself. Everyday, at dawn and dusk, God tells us that, for everything, there is a season.

So, as a mid November sunset fades across the horizon, pulling color out of the day, it should also put a promise into our heart.

The promise of glory …
The promise of tomorrow …