The Setting Sun

C.S. Lewis found God while riding on his brother's motorcycle. For Saul, a bright light on the way to Damascus transformed his heart into that of the Apostle Paul. For my spiritual mentor, it was looking into the eyes of his newborn son that sparked his journey from atheism to Christianity.

And as for me, well, I found my way home thanks to a simple sunset.

Renting the Santa Monica beach house seemed like the perfect move at the time. There was no better place I could study for the bar exam -- away from the bright lights of Los Angeles and all its distractions. Yet, in the end, moving into the beach house would prove the most lethal move to my atheist credence. With a wall of windows that framed the ocean in all its pictorial beauty, I was doomed a goner from the beginning.

On my first day as a beach bum-ess, it didn’t take long until I was unpacked and settled in. Placing my last pair of shoes into the closet, I started to giggle at the life moment I had reached.

I had done it...

On the Brink

I was just weeks from earning my MBA and law degree, and an offer for my dream international job was on the table. I had just returned from Europe, marking the end of a seven-summer dynasty of traveling. I had already lived in Italy, Costa Rica and London, and had a photo album overflowing with tales of adventures, from South African safaris to French Riviera film festivals. Growing up just a small town girl, life outside Clovis, California, had always lured me. Without hesitation I had followed, turning my back on my faith and the "fairy tales" of the Bible.

But there I was, at 27, sitting in the beach house, wondering why I still felt like something was missing in my life.

I began to stare out the window at the Setting Sun. Surely I had seen many beautiful sunsets, but this one stirred deep within me. I was completely mesmerized by its beauty. It was the most stunning sunset I had ever seen. There I was, shocked by the conclusion I had come to.

There was no doubt in my mind that someone had DESIGNED this. And then it struck me what might possibly be missing from my life.

Coming Out of Atheism

I had thrown out the possibility of a personal God when I "grew up" and "realized" that Christianity was a book of fairy tales. My childhood faith died shortly after I left for college. But that day in the beach house marked the beginning of a two-month journey where I reconsidered Christianity.