Getting Dirty Never Felt So Good

A friend of mine loves mornings. Relishes them. She loves rising early while the day is still collecting its breath. She’s always up with the sun welcoming in the day. Sunrises are one of her favorite things. She loves being part of them.

Me, not so much. By the time I awake most days the sun has already kissed the day Hello. I don’t dislike mornings so much as I just try to encounter them on an as-needed basis. Sunrises are special I’ll agree. I have been apart of plenty of them to know that the first light of the day is a beautiful time. I just wish that beautiful time didn’t happen so darn early.

My favorite part of the day is evening. When the world slows down and takes a collective sigh from the long struggles of the day. When the excitement and anticipation for what is next begins to feel palpable. I think it’s also the most beautiful part of the day. Sunrises are beautiful but I have never seen one that can rival a Texas sunset.

Sunsets amaze me. You can watch the sky turn from a soft blue to deep reds, oranges and purples in a matter of minutes. Mix in some cumulus clouds to give the whole thing some height and you have one fabulous work of art.

The fact that the whole thing lasts only minutes is one of the best parts. It is changing right in front of your eyes and literally if you blink you might miss the best part. There is a restaurant near Austin, Texas called The Oasis. It is built on the side of a bluff overlooking a lake. I have been to The Oasis many times but I have never eaten there. The whole point of the place is to come and watch the nightly sunset show over the lake. And it never fails to raise applause from the patrons as the sun dissolves into the horizon.

There is a small fact about sunsets that does make me sad. The prettier the sunset, the dirtier the air. It kills me to think that each night the air that the fading light streams through must be polluted and dirty in order to create something of such beauty. On days when the atmosphere is fresh and clean the sunset is generally a little ho-hum. Still lovely but nothing spectacular. But on a high ozone level day – pow! – get ready, you’re going to see a mighty sight.

It has taken me a while to catch on but I think that’s God whole point of giving us the gift of sunsets. Dirt isn’t so bad. In fact, given the right set of circumstances and conditions, dirt can be made to be down right beautiful.

And that makes me very happy because my life can get very dirty. There are days when I start out feeling so good, confident and fresh but I sure don’t end the day feeling that way. After a day out in the world I can start to feel really beaten up, lose confidence, get angry and short tempered, become selfish and perhaps a little pitiful. I am covered in dirt.

But God is there. He is there ready and willing to take me and my dirt and transform the whole package into a thing of beauty. And He does it day after day after day – just like He does with His precious sunsets.

We are told that all things work together for our good through God for those who love Him. (Rom. 8:28) So I know, am supposed to know but tend to forget at times, that whatever happens to me throughout the course of my day – good or bad – God is working it out for my purpose with Him. I don’t have to struggle against the “dirt” that has invaded my life that day, I just need to give it to Him to take care of and then sit back and watch Him make something beautiful out of it.

And the crazy thing is – I’ve actually experienced Him do it. I have seen God take something I was struggling with, that was causing me much distress and making my life very dirty and transform it into a beautiful situation. All I had to do was let go of trying to fix it myself and let Him have it. Not easy I’ll grant you, but so worth it.

I love sunsets. Perhaps it is because I feel a little kinship in our collective dirt. In the knowing that what could be forgotten or discarded as ugly has been transformed into a thing of beauty.

It’s amazing what God can do with a little dirt.

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