Burnt

Today I attended a Scottish Highland Games because my brother happens to play the bagpipes (I still have the sound of bagpipes ringing in my ears).  It was a warm day, but not supposed to be a hot one (meaning it was around 75˚).  I spent the entire day in the sun and now I can safely say that I look like a pale lobster.  My mother offered me sunscreen several times during the day.  At first, I claimed that I didn't need the sunscreen because it wasn't hot out.  Towards the end of our time there, I switched and started using the excuse that putting sunscreen on would do little good (I had made it that long, I could make it a bit longer).  I hope that I have learned my lesson and will remember in the future that it is never too late to put sunscreen on.
I didn't think I needed the help and protection of sunscreen today.  How many days do I deny God's help too?  How often do I push forward towards reaching my goals thinking that I am near the end and have made it this far on my own (from what I can perceive)?
I think there are many suns in our lives that we perceive.  Some of which we see, ignore God, and get burnt.  People may claim that they have sought God's help when they see suns and are terrified of being burnt, but God didn't provide them protection from that sun.  Sometime, I believe, in order to help us become more intimate with God, we need to have the outer layers burnt away.
It is like that scene in C.S. Lewis' The Dawn Treader.  Eustace gets turned into a dragon by his own greed.  Eustace soon wishes that he were once again a boy instead of a dragon.  It takes Aslan (God) to come and scrape the scales off for Eustace to be a boy again.  Did it hurt like having our skin burnt?
Absolutely, but through that experience, Eustace grew closer to Aslan and he, as a boy, was reformed (read the book to see exactly how).
We can go to God to prevent being burnt from a variety of suns that we see as dangerous.  While I believe He will protect us from some, He may not protect us from all.  If God's will is to let us be burnt by the sun, He has a particular plan in mind and is peeling the outer layers off of us to reform us and draw us closer to Him.

(Please do remember to always wear sunscreen though on naturally sunny days)