Saturday, August 26, 2017

Praise for the new day.

Morning Has Broken”

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning,
Born of the one light Eden saw play.
Praise with elation, praise every morning,
God's re-creation of the new day...

I am the sunrise, warming the heavens,
Spilling my warm glow over the earth.
Praise for the brightness of this new morning,
Filling my spirit with Your great love.”

Eleanor Farjeon (“Morning Has Broken,” verses 3 & 5, c.1931)

My view from the porch at sunrise tells me that rain from Hurricane Harvey will make its way to Alabama in the near future. My thoughts are with Texas this morning, even as I revel in this gorgeous pink sunrise and the cool morning breeze. This hymn, one of my favorites, was my first thought when I walked outside. It's possible that there is even a hint of fall in the air—always welcome after summer in the Deep South.

Being an inveterate morning person, this is my spiritual home—early morning, sunrise, birdsong, dancing leaves, and breezes. What, I wonder, brings that feeling of spirit-filling to night-owls. I have laid with my back on the earth at Block Island in the dark of night, and viewed the wide swath of the Milky Way spread across the sky, billions of stars deep. That was a transcendent experience. I have stood on the top of Double-Oak mountain with my young sons while meteors showered down like fireworks on the Fourth of July. I have stopped my car on the side of the road to view the rising of the Harvest Moon. I have stood on a beach in Costa Rica and watched a vermilion sun drop into the roiling Pacific. All these were awe inspiring moments. But every single day, there is this—this sunrise, this birdsong, this dancing of leaves. Nothing better.

I wonder about you. What time of day refuels your soul? Where do you feel closest to your Creator. I'm guessing it isn't in a cathedral, or a mosque, or a temple. I'll bet it's under the dome of Father Sky, in the embrace of Mother Earth—the source of our strength, and the ground of our being.

                                                                 In the Spirit,
                                                                    Jane



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