The Lightest Day

For her birthday last year, my friend Roxy wanted to do a sunrise hike at Hanauma Bay.  We parked at the base of the trail, grabbed our water and phones and set off in the darkness.

Though not a difficult path, it is a steep one. Roxy kindly paused for my breaks. I enjoyed breaking often (ha) to watch the first hints of daylight hitting the placid ocean on our left and a community dotted with sleepy street and house lights on our right.

I puffed up the mountain, anxious to make the top before the sun began its ascent, as pink ribbon clouds began filling the lightened sky above us.

Sunrise over Hanauma Bay

We reached the summit where we turned 360-degrees, drinking in the thrilling views filled with oceans, cities, mountains, and the sky.

Each moment, the sky lightened and brightened. We planted ourselves on a perch off the trail overlooking the sea and prepared for the sun to bathe us with his splendor.

As quickly as he had slipped under the horizon in sunset the previous day, he suddenly burst on the horizon. Oranges, pinks, purples, yellows dashed across the clouds in the sky and reflected in the vast ocean.

After taking scores of pictures, we decided to explore the mountain.

By the time we returned to our vehicles, the sun, once a speck on the horizon, filled the whole sky and gifted us with incredible heat! Sweat soaked my clothes from top to bottom. I drank every drop of my water.

As the Light of the Morning Cometh

I thought of the scriptures that prophesy the Savior’s return, like Matthew’s comparing Jesus Christ’s Second Coming to the daily path of the sun.

For as the light of the morning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, and covereth the whole earth, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.

We Knew What to Expect from the Sunrise

How eagerly we watched for the signs of day.  We knew what they would be.  We didn’t know exactly how the colors would manifest themselves that day, but we expected them.  We expected the sun to split the ocean and sky.  We expected the sun to continue rising.

I don’t know exactly what Jesus Christ’s Second Coming will look like. But there are things I eagerly expect. I expect His light to fill the earth before He comes.  I expect prophesied signs of nature and nations to occur. I expect the scriptures to be fulfilled.

Likewise in preparation for His coming, the restoration of His never-to-be-thrown-down kingdom began as the sunrise destined to cover the whole earth.

My personal testimony follows the same pattern of starting small and with steady progression, the light increases inside of me until I’m covered in light, too.

That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.

So, on this Summer Solstice day, the longest, lightest day of the year, I think of my Savior and how He’s promised to return.  And I consider my own path across the sky endeavoring to be like Him and what trajectory changes I need to make to be completely filled with His perfect light.