Setting Sun, Rising Moon

I've lived in Kansas for over 21 years, and it still amazes me how quickly the weather can change in the Midwest. I remember one year when a good friend from Tennessee came to spend a week with me and my kiddos, and in a 6-day time frame, we had fall-like temperatures that changed into blistering humid temps above 90 (which came with powerful thunderstorms and blaring tornado sirens). The week ended with a crazy drop in the temperature, and it was snowing when my friend left for the airport. All in one short 6-day time span. Which is why, I suppose, it didn't surprise me that following several days of dangerously high temperatures that precipitated excessive heat warnings, a cool front moved through yesterday afternoon and last night was close to perfect weatherwise.

After dinner, I played left-handed Frisbee with Julie until she was too tired to move and then I took Ollie for a long, long, long walk. I don't know who was more thankful to be out on the trail in the beautiful weather, me or my tired-of-being-in-the-house wiener dog. Ollie was so happy to be walking that he stuck out his little chest, wagged his little tail and pranced on his little paws like he was king of the world. He greeted every single person we passed, and he was especially excited to see the little kids along the trail who now know him by name. By the time we made our turn to head home, I looked at my watch and realized we had been on the trail for almost two hours.

Stopping to give Ollie a drink from his water bottle, I noticed that the sun was setting on the horizon in a beautiful display of reds and pinks. I'm not sure how long I stood by the side of the trail watching the orange ball descend behind the clouds with Ollie waiting patiently for me to start moving again. As I began to walk with Ollie trotting by my side, I remembered how my mom used to say that the sky in Kansas was so much bigger than the sky in Tennessee. Each time Mom would make that comment, I would say, "Mom, it's the same sky; it can't be bigger. It just seems bigger here because there aren't any mountains." And each time, Mom would smile and say, "It's all in how you see things ... the sky is bigger in Kansas."

It struck me as Ollie and I walked slowly toward home that there was a lesson in Mom's words that I had never taken heed of before. Life is all about perspective ... how I see things affects every piece and part of my life. Whether my sky is big or small is quite dependent on how I view it ... whether I see the openness of unobstructed fields or the confinement of seemingly unclimbable mountains ... it's all in how I see things. As we passed the elementary school that signaled we were almost home, Ollie suddenly stopped and I looked up to see two young girls approaching on their bicycles. Not wanting to take the time for Ollie to visit with them, I leaned forward and lifted him into my arms and as I did, the almost full moon rising in the sky to my left caught my eye. "Look, Ollie," I said, "look at the pretty moon." Again, I'm not sure how long I stood there gazing at the bright white sphere in the sky while I talked to my hound, but tears filled my eyes when I finally started walking toward home, speaking a prayer as I stepped.

Open my eyes and make me stop and see the setting of the sun and the rising of the moon, Lord. Let me see the world through Your eyes, Father ... keep me from seeing the mountains that seem so steep and cause me to see the open plains of Your love.