by lynne sampilo

Created on: August 25, 2010

I love watching sunsets.

There is a place in Manila called "The Boulevard".  It is actually one of the major roads in Manila that connects important cities like Pasay City, Paranaque City and Cavite.  It runs alongside the beautiful Manila Bay and is very popular because of its sunset.  During mornings, it is filled with early joggers, old people doing Tai Chi and others chatting and having coffee overlooking the Bay.  Everyone enjoying the beauty of sunrise and the smell of fresh air.  By late afternoon, more people flocked to the place because of the breath taking view of the sun setting.  I have lived all my life in a province south of Manila and have heard so much about the Boulevard.  Just recently in one of my visits there, I headed to the place just so I could experience for myself why is it that people keep going there just to experience something so ordinary like the sun setting.  Isn't the sunset everywhere just the same?

It was 5pm when I got to the place.  I could see couples huddling together while some youngsters in a group laughing and having fun.  There were street vendors everywhere.  Some selling souvenirs but mostly selling food.  A couple of people riding the bicycle passed by while children were running around and squealing having fun while their parents looked on.  From where I stood, I looked over the Manila Bay.  On my right I saw a huge ship from afar and a number of yacht coming from a yacht club several kilometers away and on my left there is a long strip of land where a huge hotel stood.  The water from the bay is of deep blue while the sky is a mixture of hues in blue and pink.  I gingerly sat on the cemented wall and waited for the sun to set.  Lost in my thoughts and my mood melancholy, I saw how the blue sky changed into splashes of orange as the sun slowly went down.  Then the blue skies changed from indigo to violet eventually to gray then ebony...indeed it was sight to behold! I gasped at such beauty and silently praised the Maker of heaven and earth for being so great.  

The sunset is like the human spirit.  At the end of the day after everything is done, whether good or bad, each sunset may signify the end of the 24 hours that has passed but it is a promise that a new one will definitely come.  When life treats us bad and it seems there is no hope, God's glory in the presence of such beauty is a reminder.  Whether you are at your own backyard or in the Boulevard, it lets us know that God is great and He is in control of our lives.  

I came home after my trip to Manila never missing a sunset to give thanks for all the blessings God has bestowed upon me during the day. 

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