The sunset last night was spectacular. I was heading home after running errands, trying to repeatedly check the sky while going 70 mph. Every time I glanced west, however, an obstacle flew in between me and the beautiful sunset – a stand of trees, a semi truck, a hill, a sound barrier wall. It was difficult to get a good look, but when I got one, it made me want another.

Our journey through life can be much like a drive home. Instead of looking for the sunset, though, we’re looking for God. The trouble is we can only get a quick glimpse here and there, just like my staccato looks at the sunset. Obstacles seem always to be in the way. If we do get a look, however, it’s a strong motivator to keep watching for the next God-sighting.

Nate and I hadn’t gotten a glimpse of God for quite a while as we tried to sell the house that wouldn’t. The 2008 holiday season had come and gone, and although we had a live contract, both of us expected it to unwind.

The twenty-something couple wanting to move in had low-balled us by $60,000. The rapidly spiraling real estate market had devalued the house nearly four times that amount already, but getting something was better than nothing. As the calendar marched toward our closing date, they suddenly asked for an extension. I said to Nate, “See? It’s all unraveling.”

But he said, “Extensions are common in the real estate business. It’s too soon to panic.”

On the last day of the extension, the buyers asked for a second one, several weeks hence. On the last day of that one, they asked for a third. Where were those glimpses of God’s colorful, spectacular work “between the obstacles?” I asked Nate if he could press the buyers’ lawyer for the reason behind all the extensions. It turned out his clients had been on a ski holiday and then gone to the Caribbean.

But finally we got a firm closing date. Our realtor assured us it would happen this time and urged me to start packing, which I did. With help from unnumbered family and friends, in less than two weeks the house stood empty, and it was our last day there.

While Nate was handling the closing, I was at the house doing a final cleaning. The rooms had never looked better, every wall freshly painted, the windows washed, carpets pristine, wood floors gleaming.

Walking through the rooms for the last time, I knew the new owners were on the way, keys in hand. But “our” home was tugging at my heart strings, flooding my mind with nearly 30 years of memories. How could I just walk out the front door and leave it all behind? As always when in desperate circumstances, I asked God, “What do you want me to be thinking right now?”

And right then he let me have a quick glimpse of him.

(…to be continued)

“Give me a sign of your goodness… for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.” (Psalm 86:17)