Sun Rise....Sun Set

I’m not really one for extremes...I’m basically a middle of the road kind of gal...but I’m not a middle of the day or a middle of the night kind of gal. I really love dusk and dawn. There’s just something magical about the slipping away of the sun and then it’s slow triumphant rising the next morning.
The dawn brings with it a sense of hope; a chilly misty new chance that slowly creeps color into the soft dove gray of daybreak. The dew glistens on the moist grass and leaves, not yet lost to the harsh heat of the day. The mist clings to low-lying areas and just above the water that sits with surface as still as a pane of slick glass. The brightest stars still dimly twinkle and wink like wise old men keeping secrets before they sleep in the sunlight, dreaming of the first wishes of the next night. The birds wake up slowly, softly cooing at first, giving way as the light brightens to full song. The air is clear and smells fresh, mixed with the rich aroma of hot brewed coffee. Sleep slips from my eyes as they open widely to take in the glory of a new morning. I realize that just like the earth is renewed, God’s mercies for me are new every morning. Nothing has gone wrong, the sunrise smiles over the horizon and hastens it pace to make the long trip from east to west to mark the day. I like the way the colors change from black to indigo to steel gray and then the edges of the world are tinged pink, the slowly, the red color seeps like life’s blood to stain the eastern sky before the blinding light of the sun takes over.

At the other end of the spectrum, after the day has worn thin, the heat has sapped strength, gravity has grown more heavy and the air hangs thick and muggy, the world just becomes weary of the struggle. When the shadows grow long, I welcome the respite and coolness of the veil of darkness. As the light ebbs and wanes, the sharp edges grow softer and blur into dark shades of umber and then inky blue. The lightening bugs play hide and seek shyly at first, then more bravely...while they blink teasingly to find their mates they look like a thousand yellow Christmas lights freed from their wiry strings. Cicadas hum and crickets chirp in the weeds while the frogs croak their pleasure. As the hectic race of afternoon gives way to the easy pace of evening, life can be savored like a glass of sweet iced tea on a screen porch under a ceiling fan. The dew falls and the parched earth drinks heartily; The earth that was so dusty in the hot sun now smells damp and rich. God calls the world to rest and comforts us with the light of the moon and stars to light our path.
I suppose most of the people in the world live for the day in between the dawn and dusk.... the time to work, the time to play and live and visit....but I live for the bookends of that day, the extremes of changing light. Each of the entities offering renewal for the soul. I like to slip into morning and into night unhurriedly with reflection and awareness. God created the night and the day, and it was good.