Sunshine

Oh, the sun is shining in through the window here in the office room, for the second day in a row. It is so wonderful to sit here at the computer and soak in the rays and the vitamin D.

I have towels hanging out on the balcony to dry. It was 31 degrees when Mel got up this morning. When I went out a bit ago to check to see how dry they were, the bottom half of the biggest towel was still frozen. I had hung them out last night and they were very wet, dripping actually, because my washer does not spin them out well. The petunias on the balcony are still alive, however. I did not realize they were such hardy plants.

Several years ago when I worked at the Young Life International Sevice Center in Colorado Springs, I used to take my hour lunch break away from the office. I'd go buy a Taco John taco, potato rounds and a diet coke, drive over to the Garden of the Gods and park at one of the overlooks. The view was either of Pikes Peak, covered in snow, or the red rocks of the Garden, either view shining beautifully in the fall or winter sunshine. The car would be nice and warm, the food great (I miss Taco John - the best tacos I've ever eaten, no other fast food place can compare - they are still around in Wyoming, but have disappeared in Colorado. At least the last time we were in Wyoming they were still in business!).

When the kids were in grade school and we were living up at my parents place, I would often take a few minutes by myself, drive up to the top of the ridge, park under a tree where there was a great view of Pikes Peak, and just sit in the sunshine and enjoy the view for half an hour or so. Later, I'd go for walks, sit on a big rock and enjoy the view to the north from a ridge to the north of my parents place. I can't go there any more since someone built a house back there (makes me weep inside for all the beauty that is lost, trees cut down, silence destroyed, the view blocked - but I don't want to go that direction in this post...). I would sit and listen to the sound of the wind in the pines, feel the cold air against my face while the sun beat down on my back and shoulders, keeping me warm. From that place I could see almost to the Wyoming border. Seriously. Well, I could see the mountains of Rocky Mountain National Park and beyond, way beyond into the pale blue nothingness.

There is something magical and wonderful about sitting in the sunshine and silence on a cold winter's day, looking far into the distance and letting the mind just wander where it will. I think that in heaven God will give me times like that - away from people, away from noise, away from visual pollution. Times where it is just Him and me, enjoying each other and what He has created for me to enjoy.

Oh, I ache inside I miss that so much right now!

So, instead, I sit here at the computer where the audio pollution is less because the double windows block much of the noise of the traffic and people talking and dogs barking, but not all. I sit with 8 plants on the windowsill beside me, one on the desk before me and sense their life - not a pine tree, but living plants indeed. I lift my face to the sunshine, close my eyes and let the warmth seep into my face and heart and soul.

Tear run down my cheeks.

Thank you, Father, for this little bit of heaven. I love you.

~*~*~*~
One of my favorite John Denver songs. Sunshine