Fire in the sky

Red skies in the morning, sailors take warning; Red sky at night, sailors delight. This phrase was coined long before my time here on the earth, and it refers to the color of the sunrise or sunset in relation to the wind for the day. I don’t know whether there is any truth or not to the notion that a red sky at sunrise means that the wind is going to blow for the day, where I live the wind is a constant whether it’s a red sky or not. I will say this; however, there is something so gorgeous about the stillness of the morning and the way the sun peaks over the horizon. The brilliant shades of purple that give way to a pale reddish pink color, that are chased away with streaks of orange and yellow are a new picture of beauty every day that only God above could paint.

Mornings aren’t always easy. Sometimes they come with some crabbiness before we’ve had our morning coffee. Sometimes they come with bitterness over something that happened the day before. There are times when we cannot see the beautiful sunrise because it is cloudy, or raining, or we buy blackout curtains for the bedroom. This doesn’t mean that the sunrise didn’t happen, we just couldn’t see it. My faith teaches me that the Lord’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23). Shouldn’t we view mornings the same way? Why do we carry over the bitterness from the day before? Ought we not forgive and let today be a new day? I’m not saying that you let the one who wronged you be free to do it again. I’m simply saying that carrying a grudge and harboring bitterness never made my life any better.

Sunsets are some of the most beautiful things that were ever created, and I don’t recall ever seeing two that were exactly alike. Here in rural America, we are blessed with an unobstructed view of some of the best sunsets the world has to offer. I’ve seen the sun fade off in the western sky over the wheat fields of western Kansas, watched the sun go to bed behind the majesty of Pikes Peak in Colorado, and watched the sky look like it was on fire as the sun went down in the sandhills of Nebraska. There is something about the beauty of a sunset, that golden hour where the colors seem to have a glow about them that makes everything seem at peace. You might have had the roughest day imaginable, there might not appear to be any light at the end of the tunnel for you, but a sunset is a sure reminder that there is still beauty and goodness in this world. Just as the sun fades with glory, it is sure to come up tomorrow in much the same way.

I don’t know whether those that live within the limits of the big city have the opportunity to ever see the beauty of which I’m talking about. I don’t know what a sunrise or a sunset looks like from a high-rise building, or with the sounds of rush hour traffic piercing the stillness of the evening. I don’t envy those that are tamers of the concrete jungle. I’ll leave you with this final thought. Matthew 6:34 says “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” When the sun goes down in the west tonight, leave the worry of today behind. That’s all for this time, keep tabs on your side of the barbed wire and God bless.

Meinzer is a fourth-generation rancher raised on the southeastern plains of Colorado. He and his family live and ranch in Oshkosh, Neb.