When I was a little girl, I used to lie down on the ground and watch the many shapes that appeared in the clouds above me. Sometimes I peeked through the branches of the tulip poplar my dad planted smack dab in the middle of the yard and imagined fairies and dragons, puppies and buttercups, little girls having a tea party. I wondered if God sat with them, smiling at the innocence of youth. I didn’t know a lot about innocence after the age of seven or eight. That was the summer the boy at the end of the alley trapped me in the garage and molested me. From then on, I found escape in the clouds.

I’ve always been drawn by the colors of the sky when day transitions to night. I imagined God as the great big cowboy in the sky who lassoed my anger, my pain, my shame, and drew it up to great heights only to toss it in the flames of the sunset so I could be free. So that, even in my young embarrassment, I somehow knew I wasn’t to blame because God brought the flames back so often. Even when the sky is overcast, I know for a fact there is a beautiful sunset behind those clouds…like a secret shared between friends.

The most beautiful sunsets I’ve witnessed were at the beach where the fire kissed the sea. Still to this day, I like to send all my frustrations, aches and pains, hurt, and anger off to God in the heavens to burn like kindling, bringing me peace. I sleep well after those sunsets…free of any darkness that threatens my qi.

I don’t pay much attention to the shapes in the clouds these days. I’m more in awe of the brilliant paintings our Creator shares with us. Last night, as I was typing this, I heard Mr. FixIt go out the back door and exclaim, “Whoa! Ginny, come out here and see this!” I padded out in my bare feet, letting the grass tickle my toes and the warmth of the sod send the Earth’s energy through me like a fountain.

He was right — it was a glorious sunset. We both snapped several pictures on our iPhones, and the last one made me smile. “Someone” was watching me out of those clouds. The first person I thought of was Mr. Virgo, checking in on me…riding on sunbeams to touch my heart. Even though he’s been gone twelve years now, and I’m happily remarried to a wonderful man that he would surely approve of…he is never far away, even when he’s riding in the clouds with Jesus.

💜

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. 147:3

***Gratitude Journal***   Today, I am grateful that God brings me the remembrance of loved ones passed and heals my heart with a sunset.