Gray Is A Color Too!!!

This morning I woke up in the darkness of early morning and couldn't get back to sleep. I snuggled into my fuzzy robe, fixed myself a cup of coffee and settled into my favorite spot in the house - the sofa in front of large windows that provide a view of the waking world.

There I waited for the first sign of light...there I wondered, what color is God choosing to put on today? Will it be gold? red? pink? purple? blue? I think of my youngest daughter who carefully goes through multiple outfits every morning trying to find the one that best fits her mood for the day. I think of my oldest daughter who has this adorable habit of putting on her clothes the night before and wearing them for an hour to two to test their comfort level and wearability. She goes to bed assured that when she wakes her day is prepared.

I wonder - how does God chose? It is a silly question of course, so all you science geeks can refrain from the comments of how pollution, ozone, weather patterns, etc. determine the color - I know these things - but a girl can have fun with her imagination right? God as a teenage girl pillaging the closet to determine what best will suit the mood or the comfort zone...wondering what I would pick if I were given the power to chose the sunrise color...

I was hoping for soft, subtle shades of pink and purple today - gentle puffs surrounded by blue - something that spoke to the peace and serenity I was feeling this morning while snuggled in my fuzzy robe with my warm coffee on my favorite sofa. I waited...I waited...I waited

By 7:30 am I realized there would be no pink and purple today....no gold, red, or even blue. The color of the day is gray...at first I thought how disappointing...but then I went in search of some good news about the color gray.

Wikipedia helped with a small section about color T.V. of all things..."Red, green, and blue light combined together at full intensity produces white. The three colors combined at equal but less than full intensity produce all the different shades of grey. To make a cool grey, the intensity of the blue is increased slightly. To produce a warm grey, the red intensity is increased."

That gray sky now looks different - not dreary at all - God simply liked all the colors today!

Yeah God!

Light is Coming

From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised.

Psalm 113:3

I have never in my life been a morning person. I have always preferred to experience the sunset and enjoy the calm of evening rather than the expectant hustle of morning preparation. Perhaps it is an issue of aging, or perhaps I just have too much on my mind these days but I suddenly find sleep elusive and as a result, I am forced  to witness the birth of each new day. What a glorious gift it is...even if I am sometimes witnessing it through eyes that are blurry and sleep deprived.

I sit and stare out my window at darkness. I pray. I think. I sometimes write. I enjoy the sounds of my sleeping household. Ever so patiently and serenely the world begins to take shape around me. It begins with the first shadowy outlines of the trees outside my window. The sky begins to turn a lighter shade of black and the world stands in dark contrast. Light is coming. 

Another glance out the window and suddenly the trees are visible and the first splash of color spreads across the sky. Light is coming.

Hues of blue begin to deepen...clouds of red, purple, pink dot the horizon. Light is coming.

I have not yet seen the light. The sun has yet to peak above the edge of the earth but all of creation is now proclaiming its imminent arrival. Birds are singing, the colors deepen and signs of life appear...because light is coming.

From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised. The earth is in full praise mode today. I think I shall be also...because light is coming.

The Advent season is over but the Christmas season is at hand. On Christmas Eve we lit the Christ Candle and proclaimed that into the world has come a great light...Christ, our King. It is a bold proclamation to make given the deep darkness of the world around us. However, in the flames of that candle something else becomes visible: the outline of hope, the first shadows of peace, the initial colors of joy...all made possible because light is coming.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

Now Playing: Sunrise

Almost shyly, she makes her grand entrance. Although once she peeks above the horizon she rushes in with a flourish of gold and pink. It is easy to see, as I watch her, why some in ancient times chose to worship her. It is hard enough to comprehend the fullness of her magnificence, let alone contemplate the glory of the one who must have created her. I watch others as they watch her and notice that at just the moment before she peeks into view many stand still in anticipation. We stand together and wait for what we know will happen, what should be so commonplace that we hardly notice, and yet we don't want to take for granted and miss it - sunrise.

I peek behind me and notice the darkness is fleeing from her arrival and I smile. I look back at her and see her rainbow of colors streak across the sky and I think of the promises of the one who created her. Those promises are as sure as the sunrise every day. New and fresh each morning is God's promise that the light will defeat the darkness - that beauty will overcome the blackness of despair.

Yes, it is easy to see why some would worship her for one cannot help but feel hopeful in her presence and healed by her arrival. I want to applaud the performance but I figure others will think I'm strange if I stand on the beach clapping my hands at the sun. Instead I say a prayer of gratitude and praise to the one who puts on this show every single day without fail. Some days I don't take the time to stop and observe the show. Other days there are clouds and obstructions that keep me from seeing it and yet I know it is happening - it always happens.

God happens! Every day God's glory streaks through the word without fail. Every day there is hope to be found in the presence of a steadfast God...even on those days when we can't see it or feel it doesn't mean that God isn't there providing it. As sure as the sunrise so is the faithfulness of God.

Rejoice in this new day and in all God has in store for it.