For the longest time in my life I missed the mornings. I was a Nighthawk. I would get up at the last possible moment to make my earliest appointments. I would go to bed as late as possible, my energy surged as the day progressed. That meant the periods of greatest creativity and activity in my life were the evening, in the dark. I think being surrounded by the darkness with a few powerful beams of light on a few specific illumined areas bent my creativity to very specific opportunities; the written word, organizing something in front of me, listening to music with an image in front of me, watching television (sports or dramas), or conversations with friends or family.
In what has been one of the biggest changes in my life I now rise early, 6 am, even on days when there is no specific reason to get up at that hour I do so out of habit. My body is now primed to awaken with all its senses at that early hour, ready to take in the darkness or light (depending on the season) and get going, eager to respond to what the day has offered. I still am a Nighthawk, I usually go to bed at 2 am, but there are days when I am quite tired and midnight will be my bedtime. But I feel these long days are sustained by the power of mornings that the Creator has given me.
Mornings are a unique part of the day. If you listen and watch the Creation around you, look outside through your window even in the dark cold, there is an awakening to everything that gives life. My body stretches as I feel the Creation stretching to reach into familiar places and spaces.
Today I awoke to the smell of coffee, and what I saw was lush green, trees, bushes, flowers (planted by the former owners of this property), grass, and glorious weeds. And the sounds of some creature that makes a peeping like song, a woodpecker (my favorite bird), little birds dancing and chirping. The only dissonant sound, cars moving throughout the subdivision, are quickly replaced by dogs and their people walking near by. To say this is idyllic would be an understatement.
I think this affects my mood, my day, and my life. I am so delighted to experience mornings now. It changes how I see the day before me, not as a slow progression, not as something to get through, not as a waiting period, not as a time to get ready for a commute into something else, but a period of awakening and stretching into a new place.
Now it’s off to preside and preach and share in community time, this morning and this evening. My mind, my muscles, my spirit, it is stretching to meet the places I will go, I will be led.