Sunrises and Early Mornings

 

 

The air was humid and a gentle breeze floated over the sand as we reached the beach.  The sky to the east was rose colored, touching the sea foam and dyeing it a light pink color.  The time was 5:50 am and almost no one was standing or walking on the beach.

Aly and I pulled our bikes across the sand and began to ride.  After about fifteen minutes of steady biking, we stopped and took pictures as the brightness increased and the sun began to edge its way above the eastern horizon.

There is something special about sunrises.  Sunsets are pretty too, but I prefer sunrises – even if it means missing some sleep in order to be there for the event.

I turned to Aly.  “Is it worth missing some sleep to watch the sun come up?”

“I like my sleep,” she answered after a moment’s thought, “But I wouldn’t miss it!”

I have talked to many people who say that conceptually they would love to watch sunrises.  They have heard about the amazing things that happen in the sky at daybreak.  They have read glowing accounts of how the birds sing and the world wakes up in these early hours.  There’s only one problem – the concept of sunrise versus the reality of the comfort of their early morning pillow seems like not much of a contest.

We know that Jesus woke up early in the morning.  “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” (Mark 1:35)

Of course, some of us are morning people and some are evening people and perhaps there is no changing that.  It is easy for someone, like myself, who wakes up at 5 am every morning to look down on those who are still sawing logs at 7 am, but I do think there is a blessing to rising early in the morning.

It isn’t just to see the sun climb above the level of the beach on Kiawah Island, but also in the quiet of the morning hours to pray and connect with our Heavenly Father.

The blessing is that even though we may struggle to get out of bed, He is the one who never does. He doesn’t sleep and is always ready to hear our prayers and cries for help – even on a sandy spot off the coast of South Carolina.