Sunsets. Almost every girl I've ever talked to, whether they are romantics or not, are willing to admit that there is something special about watching a sunset with your loved one.

Walking on the beach as the sun slips over the horizon, the last bits of light playing and dancing on the waves that quietly lap at the shore line. The wind gathers up her hair as they walk in silence, hand in hand. Neither one of them say a word, and yet nothing needs to be said. Everything is seen in the way they look at each other. 

However, while I love sunsets, they can't compare to the beauty of a sunrise. Some might say that they are pretty much the same thing, but it isn't a sunrises outward appearance that I find so appealing. Rather it's the application that a rising sun gives. A setting sun signifies an end. Those last bits of light signify the last bits of hope, before a bit of your world is encased in darkness. A sunset is an end. However, a rising sun signifies a beginning. Darkness covers all, but just when you think that the end has been set in stone, suddenly a burst light springs over the hilltops. Your breath catches as you watch as the sun stretches, yawns, then shines it's face on the world, filling it with light and hope. A sunset closes, ends. A sunrise begins.

Then of course there's that moment in time, the snap shot of a sun peaking over the horizon. Is it setting? Is it rising? Is this an end? Is this a beginning? You can't tell. Perhaps it's the beginning of an end. The last door closing. But maybe, (and you pray and hope that it's the case) just maybe, it's a fresh start. A new beginning. A sunrise.

"What a christmas this is turning out to be! Dad's back! Now Daniel tore his meniscus and might need surgery! There's all the stuff going on with me! I'm headed off to college! ERRRGGGHHH"

Mom gently corrected me telling me that I needed to, like my wise father, put things in perspective. I can't properly convey the wisdom and calmness with which she spoke, I can only communicate the effect it had on me.

I realized a lot of my life is spent worrying over very silly petty things. Will I have enough money to go to college? Will I be able to stay well? Will anyone ever love me? What if I marry the wrong guy? What if I'm going to the wrong college? The last few months have been spent in constant worry. I am not trusting God at all. I've always known that this has been an issue. In essence everyone who gets worried to the point of obsession is lacking God's trust but it wasn't until today that it hit me just how far I have fallen in trusting Him. All these things that I want to hold to, and worry about, and stress over; they are all part of His plan. His glorious, unknowable plan for my life. I can only see my life and the world through my two very very very very tiny little eyes. I need to put things in perspective. This life is not about me, but every time I worry and I try to focus on what I need and what I want and what I will make me happy, I lose sight of the true joy and the true happiness that I can only find through Jesus Christ.

Sorry, that thought process was a bit jumbled and was really hard to communicate, but it needed saying.

Joy comes in the morning. A promise I hold fast to.