At the end of the day, I am usually very tired. With work, friends, homework, and nursing school - life can become very tiring, very fast.

At the end of the day, all I want to do is sleep.

At the end of the day, I don't want to talk to anyone.

At the end of the day, I'm usually pretty grumpy.

At the end of the day, I tend to reflect on everything that went wrong, more than everything that went right.

At the end of the day, sometimes I go to bed ungrateful.

When really, at the end of the day, all that matters is who gave it to us.

It is SO important to reflect on your day as it is coming to a close. It is SO important to be thankful to the one who gave us that day. It is SO important to go to bed with a happy heart, no grudges, and a peaceful spirit.

However important this is - I am so guilty for not always doing it. Usually, I am so worn out from homework, that I close my eyes and fall asleep before I can even reflect and be thankful.

The other day I was driving to Rome, to work at the hospital. As I was coming into Rome, the sun was setting and brilliant colors lit up the sky (as shown in the cover photo). Forgive me, if you will, for taking this photo while driving. I made sure there were no cars around me when I did so. I just couldn't move on without a permanent picture of God's amazing artistry.

Recently there have been some really bad forest fires in North Georgia, and even some of the Carolina's. The smoke from these fires have infiltrated almost half of Georgia, making everything look hazy. The smoke also allowed for this sunset to be extra brilliant and beautiful.

As I was contemplating this sunset while driving to Rome, I got to thinking - how similar to our lives is this sunset? It took a lot of rough times, a lot of smoke, and a lot of hard workers - but eventually the sunset came and it was breath-taking.

This reminds me of our lives. Our day may not go as planned;

We may be late.

We may not have gotten a shower or breakfast.

We may have forgotten an assignment.

We may not have slept at all.

We may be sick.

We may have had a loved one pass away.

Nothing could be going our way.

However, at the end of the day, God says, "I've got it."

It takes our roughness, our bad days, our stubbornness (can I raise my hand here?) - to get to that marvelous sunset.

Before a diamond can be a diamond, it first must be cut down and sanded until it shines bright.

We are exactly the same, which is why the Bible compares us to the liking of clay, and God to the character of the potter. First, we must be molded and put in the kiln, before we can be just where God has planned for us to be.

We are all masterpieces, diamonds, and sunsets. We may not be able to feel or see that beautiful sunset because a hill or some trees are in the way - but trust me, when that clears and you turn that corner, the sunset will be in full and bright glorious colors.

Be still and listen to God say, "I got this."