In The Morning

Last week during the All-Church Mission Trip, I had the opportunity to go with a few people on a sunrise hike high in the Appalachian Mountains. We had to wake up at five in the morning after working 3 longs days building a house with two more to go. We started the hike in the dark using flashlights to guide our steps. We reached the top just before the sun started to shine. We sat on a rock pinnacle in silence for thirty minutes as the sun came up. It was a beautiful experience. The whole time I was sitting up there all I could think was that old adage, “You can hear the hills sing.” It was so beautiful that my heart was overflowing, and I could feel God's presence and see His carefully designed creation. I thought of Psalm 59:16, "I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning." I imagined the mountains around me singing joyfully every morning as the sun hit their peaks causing them to shine all the while shadowy mist drifts lazily down in the valley. I bet if the hills could really sing their song would be all about the glory, spender, and love of God.

Now I am back in Delaware County waking up to walk my dog and paying no attention to the morning around me. I have been challenging myself to remember that moment I had on the mountain. Not just in the morning because any time of day the sun is rising over some mountain and that moment of beauty exists. The beauty I experienced does not just exist in that one place at that one time. I have decided to try to remember and search for that wonder and beauty in every day and to, “joyfully sing…in the morning.”