Sunrise — Another guest post by Samuel

Most people would enjoy watching a sunset, mainly because they’re beautiful and they’re always there when you’re awake to see it. I actually like watching sunrises better, especially when it’s in a landscape like the open sea. Some people may think I’m crazy for wanting to wake up early in the morning at the crack of dawn, but I don’t exactly value my sleep as much.

The first sunrise I remember witnessing was about two years ago while I was at a family reunion at Mammoth. In case you were wondering, I did not bat an eye that night, mainly because I was having recurring nightmares nearly every night and I had just finished a book with a very haunting end. So I just laid there. Scared. Of drifting to sleep, back into whatever my anxious mind had in store for me. Hours, minutes,  seconds could not tick away slower. But through the window shades I saw a light: white but somewhat pinkish red. I looked through them, and there it was. Through slits of shades, and needles of pine trees I saw the sunrise.

I also came to a realization. I had been stupid to lie awake at night. Very, very stupid. Why? I didn’t trust God to be watchful over me. Being scared to death of a nightmare is understandable, but it reached the point where the translation of my thoughts was: “God, I don’t trust you to look after me, protect me, and know my every need. I don’t believe in your omnipotence and omniscience and I will try to protect myself.” It’s actually amusing how just the Sun peaking out of the horizon can be so convicting. From then on, every sunrise I saw stood as a reminder that I could be certain that God would be there for me as I could be sure the sun would welcome the new day every morning.

Now let’s jump a couple years into the future and to a little town named Kirkcaldy, Scotland. When I saw the shoreline there I immediately thought: “I have to get a sunrise picture or two.” 

Kirkcaldy's shoreline from the Ravenscraig castle

My parents kept encouraging me to watch the sunset instead. But the sunset where we were at was disappointing. Way too many buildings covering it. I took the pictures eventually, but no: it didn’t require me being a teenaged rebel. My mom eventually agreed to accompany me (which never happened)--because that would require her getting up at 4:30am.

I went out with the sting of salt in the air, and frigid cold. I didn’t even care that I had nothing but shorts, flip-flops and a heavy sweatshirt at 4:45am. I was told not to have high hopes since it’s always cloudy and I probably wouldn’t even see color of sunrise. That was only partly true. There was actually a lot of color, with a nice contrast of a dark blue sky. The cloudiness actually made the pictures better. Here are a couple pictures of my time out there, but note that I edited all of these with the intent of making it look like a painting. Hope you enjoyed my story and these pictures!

Seagulls flying out on the horizon

The tides receded very drastically. Here's a rock covered in algae.

The sunrise behind a dock