The sunrises and sunsets are what I miss the most about North Dakota.
I don’t miss the snow, frost, and the biting wind.
I don’t miss the muddy roads, soggy hems, and the damp, cold wind.
I don’t miss the humidity, mosquitoes, and the hot, dusty wind.
I don’t miss the early snow, soggy leaves, and drift-building wind.
In case ya’ didn’t notice, I just described the four seasons of North Dakota.
Don’t get me wrong, I was born and raised in North Dakota, and have a fierce loyalty to the Prairie State.
I just didn’t want to live there forever.
But every time I go back, I wonder for a little while, why I wanted to leave in the first place.
Because there are some things I will never stop missing.
I miss the glorious colors of our Creator that burst over the horizon with the hope and promise of a new day.
I miss the brightness of this golden orb that followed me throughout my entire day, even on the coldest winter day.
I miss the the sun on my face.
I miss knowing exactly when the day began by watching the sun greet it.
I miss knowing that as glorious as each sunrise was, there would always the distinct possibility that tomorrow’s could be brighter and more colorful.
To a Son-loving woman, the sun holds spiritual awe. Its glimmers of heaven that leak through the canopy over the earth give me courage and strength for the day.
When I finally leave the sorrows of earth for heaven, it won’t be the sun lighting my world, it will be the Son.
I think He created the sun to remind us of He is the Light of the World.
And that’s what I miss the most about North Dakota.
Well said.
We loved North Dakota! Not the mosquitos, of course (we joke about the “ND Walk” – a groovy strut in which one plays the hand jive over every portion of your body, slapping clouds of the most aggressive parasites we’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting). The winters were tough, but memorable for sure.
We miss the people mostly, though. An ethic that meant folks could leave their car running with its doors unlocked in the parking lot (please excuse the environmental impact of course, but if you shut your car down in the parking lot at -50F, there was a good chance you’d not get it started before March!) and return to find it still there. People that would stop to help with genuine concern when you pulled over on the shoulder to check the map. People who asked, “How are you doing?” and really wanted to know.
We miss that part of ND.
And the sunrises and sunsets, of course.
Magnificent!!! Sunrises, sunsets and star gazing are all things I love about the area I grew up in. Like most towns, it is sometimes hard to see stars here. As an Aussie, it is great to read of these things on your prairies, which are just like the well known books which we love from that part of your country. xo
This is one of your best…. Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2012 12:03:41 +0000 To: [email protected]
Me too! Sunsets and sunrises are the part of creation that I love the most, but I don’t get very good views of them in Manaus! But I was just on a 5-day trip on the Amazon river and throughly enjoyed seeing the beauty of our Creator’s sunrises and sunsets (since the river is so big, we could clearly see the sky all around us!) He didn’t stop creating beautiful things after 6 days of “creation”. He’s so good to create new beauties for us to enjoy, and remind us of Him, every morning and evening!
This is such a beautiful thought, Rachel, thanks for sharing.
You said “Amazon” and already my heart was pounding. You are seeing some beautiful handiwork that most of us will only read about.
Praying for you, dear sister, and your work for the Lord. So encouraged by your faithfulness!
You forgot the stars, Mindy! Walk down a gravel road to a dip in the North Dakota prairie and look up…no man-made light anywhere, just starshine reflecting here and there from the eyes of grazing deer, and overhead, billions of glittering stars just as God tossed them out in the beginning.
Oh, Joan, you are so right! When we first moved to the PNW, that is one of the things we often commented on. We’d sit in the hot tub at night and look at a blank sky. 🙂
My husband often will refer to the creation of the stars while preaching. They are so amazing, so beautiful, yet the Scriptures only describe it as, “and he made the stars also.”
He is an amazing God!
As a college student in ND I didn’t enjoy too many sunrises (smirk), but I certainly enjoyed how DIFFERENT ND was from Wisconsin. God really made an amazing and versatile world for us.
I agree, Dana! I visited Wisconsin a few times and found it so beautiful.
And yes, I’m pretty sure during college I didn’t see many of these sunrises, either, unless I was still up studying…
Oh Mindy, you expressed my sentiments exactly! I will probably never go back to ND as their winters are just that much worse than southern MN. The other thing I love about ND is being able to see for miles. When we were buying a lot to build a house on 12 years ago. We chose the treeless one on the top of hill so we could “see out!” We did have an extra blessing we didn’t realize until the house was built. When we looked out the front to the west in the evening, we could see the beautiful MN sunsets because we were on the top of that treeless hill! Every blessing of beauty on earth makes you long for heaven as you know that it will be indescribable in earthly terms. ~Melodee
Melodee, those were beautiful thoughts, thank you so much for sharing. Often I feel the comments made are like the exclamation point at the end of one of my thoughts. I blog isn’t finished until a few sisters add their thoughts!
This sunrise was taken in your old neighborhood, and the barn on my FB page was somewhere south of Harvey when I was trying to get to the Interstate. The old school as the header for my homeschooling blog was taken on the same road south of Harvey.
Thanks so much for stopping by this morning. It warmed my heart.
I like the wind, too. Not the biting wind, but during three seasons, I love the wind almost as much as the sun. I guess I belong in North Dakota.
That is amazing that you love the wind! OK, maybe the difference is I obsess about my hair too much and you don’t. 🙂 I can be a little vain. ND has tolerance for weather vanes, not weather vain. 🙂
I do have to admit, when it does finally get windy here in the PNW I do enjoy hearing it and watching it. Last night we had our first rain of the season and the noise of the raindrops on the roof of the playhouse and the wind in the trees was very calming.
Amen Sister!
tt is SO windy in ND today! Not fun, esp when landscaping in it. Dirt and dust packed full in ears and nose holes and you look like a racoon when you’re done!
Was just reminding myself on the way home from the grocery today (crew of 6 hungry men to feed) to be thankful for the wind, Jill. Without the wind we wouldn’ve have the beautiful big trees..cottons, oaks, elms, maples, aspens, all so wonderful! They need the wind (stress) to make their roots grow deep and branch out… just like us! are good for us and we need them to make us grow too…Ps 1
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
PS- Minnesota takes ND hands down!