Surrender, Sunrise, and Solitude

Any morning people out there? You know the type. They bounce out of bed with eager anticipation of what lies ahead, a smile already on their lips, words quick to follow. Coherent phrases, goals assembled, an agenda to be conquered.

Or maybe you're more like this: you set the alarms on your phone . . . for 6:00, 6:05, 6:15, 6:20, 6:30, 7:00, then you hit the snooze on that last one until you absolutely have to stumble out of the bed, drag yourself to the coffee pot, and hope today you remembered to put the coffee beans in the grinder before dropping them directly into your favorite coffee mug.

I fall somewhere in the middle of that second shot. I inherently am NOT a morning person. I admit I've missed all too many sunrises in favor of few more minutes communing with my pillow. I have made the mistake of putting unground coffee beans in the coffee maker, only to realize my morning brew has far less appeal if I'm expected to chew it.

However, all joking aside, I am finding the Lord is prompting me awake these days to see what I have been missing. The sunrise is one thing, but what I am quickly finding is He has something else for me: Solitude.

If you were with me yesterday, we unpacked the idea of being quiet and waiting for the Lord to speak. You know what's awesome about that? If you ask Him, He will speak and if you keep listening, He will give you ways to work out what He wants you to do.

I have never been a morning person. I stumble into the day with a bit of a grimace on my face and my eyes squinted at the day breaking. Yet, a few weeks ago when I asked the Lord to give me a time to write and to alter the course of my future, He began prompting me awake ahead of my alarm EVERY day. I listened, and for a number of those first days, I . . . went back to bed. He kept it up.

He kept waking me up, and now I am stumbling to the coffee pot, grabbing my laptop, and setting my fingers to the keys. Interestingly enough, being obedient feels so much better than those few extra moments in the dark. Surrender. Ah!

Anxiety has long been my companion on this journey. But you know what I am finding when I go ahead and heed the prompting of the Spirit to start my day when He nudges me awake? I start the day with praise like this:

"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."  Psalm 118:24

I move quickly into the light of day and leave the taunting of the enemy behind, along with the darkness. It doesn't eliminate ALL anxiety from my life, but the Lord meets me immediately upon awakening and takes my hand to walk with me. Some mornings, I feel like I hold out my hand and He scoops me up and carries me, because He knows I've not had any coffee yet.

So, take a moment over the next few days to see His
"splendor . . . like the sunrise."

Spend a few in solitude with Him. Surrender to His plans.

Let Him reveal His power for your day. I promise He will show up. He will speak. He will serenade you with morning sounds, and as you listen; you may find out you were glad you were awake after all.

Have a lovely day and leave a trail of beauty in the process!