Sunrise

Last week, I was driving across town for an early morning meeting as the sun was rising. I’m not usually outside when the sun comes up, though I’m thinking I should make a point of it more often. On this day, the sun was a glowing orange orb on the horizon. It looked enormous as it made its ascent into the sky. The sky around it felt like a watercolor - purples, oranges, reds all blending to create a masterpiece. It was breathtaking.

While I was stopped in traffic, I snapped a picture, which doesn’t really do it justice, but when I looked back at the picture, I noticed something I hadn’t seen in the moment. All of the cars on the road had their headlights on. When they left wherever they came from that morning, it was dark outside.

Yet, in that moment on the road, the rising sun was so bright, blindingly so, that I didn’t notice any of the headlights. Mere minutes before, the lights on the cars were essential; they made it possible to be on the road in the darkness. And yet as the sun rose into the sky, there wasn’t any darkness left for the headlights to illuminate.

It seems that there are a lot of dots we could connect around darkness and light, but the thing that really struck me as I thought about this sunrise was the safety I felt in knowing that the sun will keep rising. It feels so hopeful to me that when the world feels chaotic, the rhythms of creation remain.

The sun rises and the sun sets.
The sun rises and the sun sets. 
The sun rises and the sun sets.

It feels like a breath prayer to me.

The sun rises and the sun sets.
The sun rises and the sun sets. 
The sun rises and the sun sets.

A reminder that I am not in control.

The sun rises and the sun sets.
The sun rises and the sun sets. 
The sun rises and the sun sets.

A reminder that God is sovereign.

As I write this, I am reminded of Jon Guerra’s song, “In the Beginning Was Love.” There is a section at the end of his song that says - 

“And before I knew what love was
Love was in the beginning

The light shines in the dark
The dark has not overcome it
The light shines in the dark
The dark has not overcome it
The light shines in the dark
The dark has not overcome it
The light shines in the dark
The dark has not overcome it

Love was in the beginning”

At times it might feel that darkness has overcome, but the light always shines brighter. May we notice the light. May we be the light. May we point others to the light. 

~  Melissa