{"id":828,"date":"2015-02-20T10:14:05","date_gmt":"2015-02-20T16:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/?p=828"},"modified":"2019-05-17T15:16:18","modified_gmt":"2019-05-17T20:16:18","slug":"sharing-sunset-enjoying-gods-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/2015\/02\/20\/sharing-sunset-enjoying-gods-company\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharing a sunset. Enjoying the presence of God."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/sharing-sunset-title.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-829\" src=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/sharing-sunset-title.jpg\" alt=\"sharing-sunset-title\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/sharing-sunset-title.jpg 600w, https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/sharing-sunset-title-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/sharing-sunset-title-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/todotobesunrayblog.jpg\">by <\/a><a title=\"About Lydia and Belovedlove\" href=\"http:\/\/www.belovedlove.org\/about.html\">Lydia Floren<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cSolitude is not withdrawal in order to get away.\u00a0 It is withdrawal in order to be with Someone who normally gets crowded out of our lives\u2026. it is the place of love and trust.\u00a0 It therefore puts presence before action and seeks companionship before help.\u201d \u00a0 (Charles Rigma)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>So many times when I am alone with God,\u00a0 I have an agenda.<\/strong> \u00a0I might want perspective, or wisdom, or direction, or healing of some sort. \u00a0But I think much of that time with HIm \u00a0would be better spent not seeking anything, except to <strong>just hang out with Him<\/strong>.\u00a0 No agenda. No words, really. Just two friends relishing a companionable silence\u2014aware of each other, but not expecting from each other.\u00a0 We have an understanding: <strong>I enjoy His presence, and He enjoys mine. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I liken it to sitting with a close friend at the beach watching a sunset.\u00a0\u00a0 Though no words are exchanged, the \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/category\/connection\/\">connectedness<\/a> is almost palpable.\u00a0 And the silence between us seems to magnify the beauty surrounding us.<\/p>\n<p>In Heaven, I expect God and I will share many such quiet moments, enjoying the sweep of a mountain vista, the trill of a child\u2019s laugh. Or the velvet touch of a horse\u2019s nuzzle, or the fragrance of a rose in bloom.\u00a0 But those experiences will pale compared to the <strong>stunning beauty of God Himself.<\/strong> His integrity. His wisdom. His vitality. His strength. His gentleness.<\/p>\n<p>heaven is a ways off, thought, and there is much yet to do in this life. People to help.\u00a0 Commitments to keep.\u00a0 Plans to make, and then to follow.<\/p>\n<p><strong>There is a journey.\u00a0 And I am on it.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>However, I must remember: <strong>part of that journey includes tasting a bit of heaven from time to time.\u00a0<\/strong> It is dangling my legs over a seawall with a Good Friend, watching the horizon together in companionable silence.\u00a0 It is enjoying My Creator\u2019s presence, not for what I can learn from Him, or for what He can do for me\u2014but simply because <strong>He is there, and I love Him, and He loves me.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>And because it is just nice to share a sunset together.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Share with us: How\u00a0do you find the time to enjoy God&#8217;s company?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/sunrayblog.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-831\" src=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/sunrayblog.jpg\" alt=\"sunrayblog\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/sunrayblog.jpg 600w, https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/sunrayblog-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/sunrayblog-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Recent posts &#8211; Time Management Series:\u00a0<a title=\"Taking Aim \u2013 Goal Series: Part I\" href=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/2015\/01\/31\/taking-aim-goal-series-part\/\">Taking Aim: Goal Series &#8211; Part I<\/a>,\u00a0<a title=\"Beginning with the end in mind\" href=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/?p=813\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Beginning With The End In Mi<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/?p=813\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">nd: Goal Series &#8211; Part II<\/a>, <a title=\"The Right Things For The Right Reasons\" href=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/2015\/02\/13\/right-things-right-reasons-transformation\/\">The Right Things For The Right Reasons: Goal Series &#8211; Part III<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Lydia Floren \u201cSolitude is not withdrawal in order to get away.\u00a0 It is withdrawal in order to be with Someone who normally gets crowded out of our lives\u2026. it is the place of love and trust.\u00a0 It therefore puts presence before action and seeks companionship before help.\u201d \u00a0 (Charles Rigma) So many times when [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[466,13],"tags":[6,8,36,14,47,66],"class_list":["post-828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-finding-gods-love","category-prayer-and-meditation","tag-gods-love","tag-hope-and-encouragement","tag-peace","tag-prayer-and-meditation","tag-relationships","tag-restoration"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Sharing a sunset. 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