It was easy to fall in love with morning when it started off with such a simple but delicious feast.~Pat Conroy (From A Lowcountry Heart, Reflections On A Writing Life)

I wake up groggy, halfway stumble down the stairs, already anticipating my first sips of hot french vanilla coffee, a luxury, the bold stimulant increasing my alertness. Yet what conjures even more wakefulness is the morning light easing through the blinds, luxuriant, brilliant. Even when morning skies are gray as concrete, there is still that silvered finish that speaks of God's grace and faithfulness. And when the skies flare streamers of crimson and amethyst, there is pleasure in being alive, placing my fingers on the inside of my wrist and feeling life's pulse. 

It can be easy to overlook or minimize the good in the world, as we are so often bombarded by the negative in this culture. Not that we shouldn't be concerned and active regarding our role for such a time as this. Sometimes it helps to increase my courage to act when I move my focus to the good that parallels the frightful.

Here are some things I've experienced lately...

My granddaughter told me that she'd had some rough times in the past few weeks--lost a tooth in a traumatic way, gotten a splinter in her foot that needed a type of mini-surgery to remove it; stung by a wasp. Then she said, "But you know, Jesus, my good Shepherd, guided me through. I felt His comfort and help. And then He answered my prayer! I got the puppy I've been praying for since I was three." My granddaughter is ten. 

I asked my grandson what he thought about the movie we'd watched, How To Eat Fried Worms. He paused for several seconds then said, "You know that movie was really about friendship, don't you think?" I nodded. "Tell me more about what you're thinking." He went on, "You know that boy who stood up for the bully--I think I would have done the same thing. I think God would have wanted me to do that." My grandson is seven.

I sat in my favorite chair, savoring the morning light and three texts came in, almost back to back, from three of my favorite women. One woman texted, "God has answered prayer this morning. I found a great apartment for my daughter. We started looking only yesterday." Another text read, "I wrote in my journal that you were praying for my trip, and then your text came in that said you were praying. Thank you." Another requested prayer for healing and said she trusted in God's provision for her and her family. All that expression of belief and gratefulness and prayer wrapped up in the morning light.

Then my husband called, a video chat session. He is enjoying his home country and attending free classical music concerts in the piazzas of his beautiful European city. I could almost feel his joy amplifying the morning's luminescence. 

Let us not give up. Let us not abandon our courage. God knows we must live in this world. And our lives do tremble with difficulty at times. Yet His light transcends the hardship, the morning light a symbol. A feast of mercy for us to embrace.

...and a little child shall lead them."~Isaiah 11:6