Ah, sunsets. It's not really a secret they've always fascinated me. I've always loved them a little more than sunrises, and that's only because I never wake up in time for those.

It's always amazed me how the sky can produce such grand color schemes. It really shouldn't amaze me, seeing as how I know who created them and He can do anything He wants, but it does. I love a good sunset on any day, but especially on long, hard, even downright bad, days. Why?

It's not a secret that sometimes when I need to get away, or some time to think, I'll go for a drive around town. I'll take the back roads, the main roads, and any roads in between. I know my way around pretty well now. Most of the time, if I do this, I try to do it around sunset. I'll talk to God, drive around, and watch the sky fade from blue into whatever colors are going to happen that night. I like to think of it as God answering whatever it may be that I'm asking, saying, etc. In Isaiah 41:13 it says, "For I hold you by your right hand - I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, 'Don't be afraid. I am here to help you" (NLT). When I see a sunset, I hear this verse, or any other verse I've ever heard about God being there, holding me up, etc. I see it as, almost, a physical reminder of that.

NF said in a song once, "Whoever told you that life would be easy / I promise that person was lyin' to you", and he's not wrong. It never said in the Bible that life would be easy, in fact it clearly states it won't (see John 16:33). But just like God sent a rainbow to Noah as a promise to never flood the earth and destroy it again, I see a sunset as an unofficial promise from God that everything is going to be okay and He's got me. It's like you've had a bad day, nothing's gone right, but you look up in the sky at the sunset, and see how beautiful it is and you just get this peace and comfort; like when someone puts a hand on your shoulder to in an act to comfort you. I can't really put it into words, honestly. It's like God is taking "your right hand" or left (for those lefties out there) and saying, "I hear you, and I'm here for you."

So with all that being said, next time, take a moment to go outside during the dusk hours. Go look at the sunset (unless it's raining or something), say a prayer, and just take a deep breath. If you can't wait until then, take a look at some I've captured below (but let's be honest, a picture can never capture the real thing).