I found this quote today on a scrap of paper on my desk, “That was her magic — she could still see the sunset, even on the darkest days,” Atticus Poetry. I think that sentence would be a wonderful compliment. My dearest friend can always find the sunset, she has magic to find light in the darkest of days. I think I’m pretty good with finding sunsets, too.

I sat by Chief’s bedside holding his hand as he took his last breath on this earth. I remember sitting in the car in the hospital parking lot after he died and as I sat weeping, I thought to myself he’s now with Rosie. He and his “Baby Lamb,” his nickname for her, were now together in heaven with our families. That was my ray of sunset in my darkest hour. “It’s funny how, when things seem the darkest, moments of beauty present themselves in the most unexpected places,” Karen Marie Moning. Chief had grieved so after her death. He went to the cemetery everyday for many, many years, taking her a bouquet of blooms from our yard. You can still follow the worn down path to her grave from where he walked it every day.

Seeing a sunset shows us that the end of life can be as beautiful as the day’s ending. Today the sun set and bathed the horizon in a beautiful peach glow. As the clouds gathered to watch the days’ ending Mother Nature painted a wildfire that burned dark watermelon pink, its flames reaching up to the high heavens. As the flames of the fire touched the high clouds they were washed in watercolors of pink and purple and mauve. Wondrous layers of Mother Nature’s watercolors brushed beautifully across the sky.

It’s during the darkest days of our lives that we struggle to see the sunset, the light of God’s faithfulness. Ben Williams writes, “There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope.” You can find hope even in the darkest night. Psalm 119:105 reads, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” God is always there, a bright light in the toughest of times. He promises he will never leave our side. He will carry our burdens.

The human spirit is resilient and even in the darkness of questionable faith we can see the promise of a new day. Today’s world is so full of storms it’s hard to be optimistic but when we look up into the heavens and see a glorious sunset or a beautiful sunrise we can see the light of God’s love and find hope even in the most challenging situations.

We can choose to follow God’s teachings each day or chart a course of our own making. God will show you the correct path. Psalm 32:8 reads, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” God will nudge you in the right direction through prayer and thanksgiving.

The sun rises and warms the bosom of the Earth just as God holds us in his loving arms and warms our souls. There is always hope and sunshine in the sunrise of another day. Life is meaningless without hope. Losing hope is worse than losing the battle. If you lose one battle, you can win another, but if you lose hope, you lose everything. There is always a bright side no matter how dark it may seem. Let God be the silver lining in the clouds of your life.

God has the whole world in his hands. We are his children and he will provide all we need if we surrender our hearts to him and follow his commandments. As the sun sets and takes the day’s light, focus on another glorious tomorrow, a gift from a loving God. Use the gift wisely.

“Each day we live is a gift, so thank God in the morning for another day of life, and thank God in the evening for getting you through the day.” — Unknown