faith unfaded

I love a morning sunrise just as much as a beautiful sunset. I just don’t see quite as many!

Occasionally my dad and I will notice we are both awake and scrolling FB in the wee morning hours and we’ll message each other: want to meet on the front porch swing and watch the sunrise? Coffee in hand — hot chocolate for me — we watch as the world comes to life.

It feels like stepping into Genesis 1.

Some of my favorite sunrises have been from sitting on a dock at Tall Timbers, overlooking the Gulf of Mexico from my balcony in South Padre Island, and floating off the houseboat on Table Rock Lake. The serenity of the atmosphere, coupled with the sights and sounds of God’s handiwork, is nothing short of majestic.

Today the sounds were amplified as I watched the sun rise over Cane River. I tried to identify all of the sounds: birds, owls, frogs, crickets, even fish as they jumped in the water. The cacophony of sounds was an orchestra, playing the Lord’s finest masterpiece.

The biggest difference between a sunrise and a sunset, though, is that it signifies new beginnings. A chance to start over. Yesterday — and its mistakes and failures — is over. There is an opportunity to start fresh.

Like the fresh blackboard for a classroom full of students, the morning bell signals new opportunities for the day ahead. And we are all merely students in the Lord’s classroom.