Dawn

I wish I could take credit for this photo, but I can't. My brother took it when we were in Tuscany this fall. I wasn't even up yet.

But as I was sleeping, God was not. Every morning He paints the sky with His incredible handiwork. And every morning I miss it. But when I look at this photo, it reminds of all that a day may hold--a new beginning, a fresh start, a great adventure.

Of course, we were on a happy adventure, but more often than not, a new day dawns on less-than-perfect circumstances--the car won't start, the baby is sick, the alarm never went off, you fight with your spouse over some triviality (and instantly regret it), or any of a hundred other things that put you in a bad mood or test your patience or completely devastate you. The beautiful dawn, if by some miracle you (and by that, I mean 'I') even saw it, is the last thing on your mind.

How often we lose our perspective on the really important things of life. When our kids were little, we used to make the long road trips back to Illinois and Iowa for summer vacations with their cousins. Once, on a beautiful summer afternoon in Iowa City, my sister, Karen, was on the floor playing with the three little girls and their Barbie dolls. Tiny shoes, miniature ballgowns, and dozens of Barbies were sprawled all over the living room floor. I was bustling around the house, trying to get them all to clean up so we could go outside and go to the park. I have this frozen snapshot in my mind of my sister looking up at me and saying, "But why? It will all be here when we get back."

It was my 'aha!' moment. How I wish I could wake up in a time warp and have it all back: not only children slamming doors, yelling for popsicles, and scraping knees--but also my sister. She was a person who truly lived in the moment and savored each one of them, and taught me more about myself than I cared to admit at the time. I miss her every day.

I know that I cannot turn back time, but I also know that if I choose to look out the window and really savor the moment, I will see not only a breathtaking dawn, but also a different perspective: a new beginning, a fresh start, a great adventure.

Dawn reminds me in the midst of my not-so-perfect circumstances that God still reigns. And that is a moment I want to savor.

"Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies." Psalm 36:5