Mascara and Prayer: Where the Earth Meets the Sky

How often do we stop in our busy lives to witness the majestic wave of God's paint brush wisp across the heavens painting the backdrop of the golden sun sinking into the place where the earth meets the sky? There is something quite profound about a sunset. Everyday it is the same ball of fire, everyday it is the same sky, and yet everyday it is magically and wonderfully different! Sometimes deep oranges streak the horizon while other times purple clouds filter rays of light.Sunsets have always touched my soul on a deep and personal level. They act as a stop sign to witness God's beauty. Sometimes I leave work at the exact moment when the sun is sliding behind the trees over the turf field, lately I have been convincing myself to stop, breathe, and experience the beauty. I believe that if there is any moment where I can most feel the presence of an all loving God it is in that moment when my eyes meet brother sun saying goodnight to a world in need of rest. The sunset is an invitation to relax, to "be still and know" God's love and presence.

Five months ago I sat with Sr. Mary Beth in a quiet hotel parking lot in Denver, Colorado. Having spent the last six days with students working in Ethete, Wyoming with Sr. Teresa Frawley, we were resting for one final day before heading back east. Few words were shared between us as we witnessed the majestic Rocky Mountains bathed in shades of purple and pink as the sun sank behind them. Rays of light shot upward behind clouds creating a surreal effect. As we sat and watched the day turn to night I felt tears well up inside of me. How could one sit and experience such awesome beauty and not believe in God. My heart broke in that moment for everyone who did not feel that celestial love.

A year and a half ago I headed west with my two best girlfriends. Three women, a trunk full of clothes and camping gear, a cooler in the backseat, and a chevy cavalier. We were most blessed to be on the road and without a plan. Although we loosely planned our travels we stopped when we felt like it, changed directions as we felt called, and ate when our bodies told us we needed it. There is something so right about the freedom of that trip, as if that is how we are meant to live, without a map, without a plan, just a feeling and a call.

Where the earth meets the sky, that is where I embrace God, that is when I feel wrapped in love, that is where God's voice is so loud that it is impossible to ignore . . . where the earth meets the sky.