By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
–– Luke 1:78-79
When I first arrived in North Carolina to serve an internship at a small church in a beach community, my host, with a countenance of sunshine and a heart of hospitality, suggested that we get up early to see the sun rise over the Carolina coast. This idea had little appeal to me at that time. I trusted that the setting would be glorious, but I had never been a morning person, and was still a few years short of the moment I would be forced to become a morning person –– the day I became a parent. I was still under the impression that setting an alarm to sound in the dark before dawn was as unethical as the unprompted shouting of fire in a crowded theater.
To my mind, the sunrise was better left as a mystery to be unlocked only by those forced to work the night shift. Looking back now, I can see how ironic and naive my dawnophobia was in my youth, particularly since I have now spent the majority of my adult life setting the alarm for dark-thirty, though I am still unconvinced that I would do it if not required of me. Adulting often forces the abandonment of natural inclination in regard to body, mind, and spirit, and for that the producers of caffeinated drinks offer their thanks.
Consequently, I have had ample opportunity to marvel at the dawning of a new day, nature’s sermon on the topic of possibility. In addition to the incomparable beauty of a waking sun reflecting off scattered cumulus sky voyagers and brilliant cirrus streamers, there is a freshness in the air granting the observer a breath of hope. The prior day’s stress is not eliminated but seems somehow smaller when set against the broad and radiant firmament. A new day, a new year, another chance, a fresh start born of mercy, an untried path –– Such is the grace of a God who is never finished molding and shaping all God has made, claimed, and loved.
“By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Thanks be to God for this new day and this new year!
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