Friday, August 20, 2010

Confession 120: Early Morning Wake-Up Calls

I woke up this morning around 4 A.M.  No idea why.  It could possibly be due to the fact that I went to bed around 9:30 last night and my body just cannot handle the thought of more than five or six hours sleep at a time.  As will happen when one wakes up before the sun rises, my brain started to race through a plethora of topics, none much conducive to sleep, except the thought of exercise.  There's nothing that incites hunkering down in bed to me more than a good workout!  I tell myself that the First Lady gets up at 4 A.M. to exercise, and if she can do it with all she's got going on, then surely I can too.  But, alas, here I am sitting in my work-out clothes exercising only my fingers.  Ah well... the day is still young.

The truth is, early morning has always been one of my favorite times.  Often, it is the only time to myself I will get throughout the day.  I like the quiet of dawn.  The sun rises gradually, no booming trumpets announcing the day.  First there is the hint of light, illuminating the darkness and revealing shadowy outlines of the world around.  Then there is a hint of color, inky blue bleeding into deep violet, and the shadowy figures come into focus; tall oaks, fat shrubs, a cat stealthily crossing the road after an evening carousing in the dark.  Then comes the pale pink glow of the sun simmering just below the horizon.  The birds wake, calling to each other through the leaves to herald the official break of day.  It is a symphony of sorts, the various calls, chirps, rustling of leaves and wings.  And finally, the sun is there, pale yellow and orange spilling over the sky.  The grass sits up, shaking off the dew so that the dew hovers above it in a fine white mist.

I cannot help but think of Psalm 30: 5-- "...weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning".   And another favorite, Psalm 143: 8-- "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.  Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul."  There is something inherently hopeful in the dawning of a new day.  One of my favorite lines from Anne of Green Gables is when Miss Stacey tells Anne that each new day is like a blank slate waiting to be written upon.  Yet, I think it is a choice to write something new, to let go of the hurts, failures, frustrations of the day before, to raise a new song of praise to God for yet another day to try and get it right, to try and make a difference, to follow God with all our hearts, souls and minds.  (I can sometimes be of two minds!)  A new day is a new opportunity to live the lives God is calling us to live.  We still have our problems from yesterday, they don't magically disappear or get erased.  But our response to them can be new, can be hopeful, can be productive.

Yes, crazy as it seems, I love early mornings.  A new day is dawning--let's go catch it!

Blessings and Peace,
Sara

7 comments:

  1. Oh my!!! I think this is the most beautiful sentiment of the morning that I have ever read!!!

    I many favorite spots in this post - but this was my favorite and brought tears to my eyes...
    "We still have our problems from yesterday, they don't magically disappear or get erased. But our response to them can be new, can be hopeful, can be productive."

    You preach it sister! I love this!

    your "morning" sis in the faith,
    pen

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  2. Sara,

    Penny read this to me as the day is winding to a less than quiet close, and I had to give you props!

    The wielding of words being the lost art that it is, you give literary life to the sneaky cat trying to make it home!

    As we say in the Franklin house, "HOO-AH!"

    John

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  3. Loving early mornings isn't crazy at all. It could be my favorite part of the day.

    Found you through Getting Down With Jesus.

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  4. Ah ... yes. With the morning sun, hope rises anew. Thank you for this.

    Nice to meet you, Sara.

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  5. This is certainly food for thought. Very lovely, well written and inspiring. Except that I'm not a morning person and I struggle to wrap my mind around the fact that you're saying all these beautiful things about a painful part of my day.

    I am glad, though, that you have a part of your day that is peaceful and enjoyable and gives you pause for reflection and cause you to praise God. I'm like that with night. (Which is why I'm writing this at 12:35 a.m. - but even night owls have their limits so I should scoot and get to bed.)

    Hopefully you slept good the next night.

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  6. My husband is the night owl in our family. He could write much more eloquently about that than I could. Years ago, when my dad and I went to Las Vegas, I was in our hotel room by eleven each night!! It is just not in me to chase down the night. :-)

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