In the beginning, in the time of creation when there was only darkness and chaos, God’s Spirit hovered over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.” He had not yet made humans, but the Creator already had a plan. Man needed a sun which would bring light and warmth. He created the green planet to sustain us and to delight with its variety. God gave animals, birds, fish to feed the body and warm the heart. He breathed into man’s nostrils and gave him the gift of life. Finally, “God saw everything that He had made and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

“Thus, the heavens and the earth and all the host of them were finished.And on the seventh day god ended the work which He had done and He rested on the seventh day from all His work He had done.” Genesis 1:31, 2:1-2.

Early morning time is such a blessing. Now that I am sleeping well again, I get up early enough to enjoy the sunrise. First of course, some nice hot coffee and then slowly I enter the intimate, detailed, delightful world God has. When I write, my words become words of joy, thanksgiving, delight of morning praise. As the natural sensory world reveals itself,   God’s Spirit calls to mine. This, too is prayer.

I watch the sun breaking up clouds, sending a new day filled with light and warmth. The sun’s brilliance intensifies through the glass windows. It is blindingly hot and white one moment and the next, it darts behind clouds. This morning is a play of light and shadows.

The air is cool and clean. I fill my lungs deeply to clean out the stale air of an indoor night. Tall ponderosas grow in dense stands in the gullies and up hills, the aspens leaf out with green –lace. The green of trees, shrubs, grasses, leaves, hillsides seems infinitely varied. Only the Creator could have such a palette in His Hands. Two hummingbirds share a morning breakfast while the chipmunk clings to the sunflower feeder swinging from the post, stealing seeds before the finches come. It is a day to be in awe of God’s wondrous gifts. It is a day to rest from the work we do and relish the outpouring from  His Hands.

O Lord God, You who created the steep mountains and the tiniest of birds, are glorious in the earth and far above it. Praise to the Father who blesses us with life, day by day. Praise to the Son, Word of God and true Light of the World who is more beautiful than the sun at dawn. Praise to the Spirit breathing newness into our spirits all through the day. I will declare that the Lord is God and He is good. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and everything that is in it. Bless His Holy Name today.

Friede Gabbert