Woman to Woman: Joy in the Morning

For many years, the beauty of the morning escaped me. Never really “a morning person” the years of raising babies with long nights of interrupted sleep stole my mornings from me. Beyond the strain of motherhood, seasons of suffering claimed my night hours.

For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Psalm 30:5

As a child, I rose early. Our backyard abutted a large wood and I loved hearing the sounds of nature waking up.

Though some of the loneliest times, my child memory clings to the smell of the woods, the dew dampness on my legs and the colors of the sun.

Since my mother never rose before 12:00 or 1:00 pm, left to my own devices, I wandered with the squirrels and rabbits and ate my dry cereal with the salamanders.

Some mornings I sat by the creek with my fishing pole in the water hoping for a few sunfish to swim by.

But one thing wrapped me in the warmest feeling of joy every day: the sunrise.

My naive child heart believed God sent the colors just for me. Nothing filled my heart with more joy than when the sun peeked just above horizon between the trees.

Eventually, the wonder of childhood was locked away with the discarded fishing pole and my wanderings left for the more important trappings of the grown-up world.

Though glimpses of morning joy peeked out now and then, life crowded out the intention in my morning pursuits.

God faithfully met me each day, and my encounters filled me with content as I learned and grew spiritually, but the warmth of a new day wrapping me in joy was gone.

Over time, mornings became a coveted time for me, but never more than about ten years ago when my work hours with hospice blessed me with watching the sunrise either on my drive or shortly after my arrival.

The beautiful gardens outside my office provided the perfect location for once again communing with God as He wrapped me in His love at the start of the day.

Watching the sun rise above the horizon speaks of God’s faithfulness; no matter what yesterday held, how restless the night, or even regardless of my failures, God sends the sunrise as a reminder His mercies are new every morning.

Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.

Psalm 110:3

One day, God arrested my attention with a verse read many times before: Psalm 110:3. More specifically, one phrase invited me into a deeper appreciation for the morning: “from the womb of the morning”.

Meditating upon those words the next time I watched the sun crest the horizon, enlivened my soul with the realization each day began as a new birth.

Bursting upon my sight, the colors of the sun clothed me in the warmth of promise.

God gifts us each day, brand new, full of His Presence and faithfulness, gilded with the joy of His promises for us.

Viewing each day as a new birth full of the goodness of God, reminded me of His unfailing love. Regardless of my failings, the rejection of others, and despite my suffering in the dark, joy came in the morning with whispers of His delight in me.

Through many years of hard nights of doubt and suffering, I lost my wonder of the birth of each day. The miracle of the sunrise faded into the hard of my reality, until the broken places of my heart let His Light in once again.

Joy comes in the morning, bringing me word of God’s faithfulness through the darkest night, whispering nothing will ever separate me from His unfailing love.

Reflection:

How are your struggling with finding God’s new mercies each morning?

What one step can you take today to access God’s joy?