A Moment of Dawn

Time for another confession. Sometimes, when I'm driving, I take pictures of the sky. 

This morning's sunrise

Forgive me, police officers. But I live in a very shaded town, and the open highway past the first Highland exit is absolutely perfect for sunrise pictures. Plus, with the new iPhone, it only takes one click of a button to take a picture, so it's fairly quick and safe. 

This morning, the sky was beautiful. Dark clouds surrounded the sun, so it looked as if the sun was literally breaking through the horizon. In the past couple months, I've experienced some breathtaking sunrises. That's the one perk of driving to school before most of the world is awake. 

January 24 sunrise

And it made me think.God paints these beautiful skies for everyone to enjoy. Some mornings, I drive to school, worshiping His creativity and faithfulness. But other mornings, the sky is rainy, dreary, gray, and cloudy.

Does God sit back on those mornings, paintbrush in hand, and say, "Oh, shoot. I was going to paint the sunrise, but it's raining. Drats, foiled again!" (Because, apparently, God speaks like the villains in old Scooby Doo episodes.)

February 8 sunrise

No way. God isn't surprised by rain. It doesn't block Him in any way. Just because I can't see the sunrise doesn't mean that it's not there. It is. Somewhere beyond the clouds of my vision, there's a gorgeous sunrise. I just can't see it because of the circumstances standing in my way. 

This is the time for the parallel between the literal rain and sunrises and the metaphorical, but it's almost too obvious for words. So I'll leave you with the chorus of a Brandon Heath song called (quite serendipitously) "Sunrise."

All you need is a sunrise

Just a moment of dawn

If you're lost in the twilight

Close your eyes and move on

When you're tired in the waiting

Even though it's gonna take you

A little more time 

Just a little more time the sun's gonna find you.