Saturday Morning... Early for some, Late for others

One of my favorite times is "early morning..." I seldom use an alarm clock as my mind just wakes up every morning around 5 a.m. or so. Everyone else can sleep as long as they want, but I generally always awake early. There's something about sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee watching the world come alive. I've watched wildlife move around me in the still of the new dawn. I've listened to birds start to welcome the morning with their trill. I've watched neighbors hastily get in their cars and drive away.

Back in the day when mornings were not as favorite as they are now, I remember my granddad and his morning routine. Up around 3 a.m. or so, he would brew coffee and cook toast until it was charbroiled. He would scrape most of the black off the hardened and dried toast and sit at the kitchen table just enjoying his morning. Sometimes he would go and do his fishing chores (check the trot-lines, ready his boat, etc.) and other mornings he would amble around the streets of his neighborhood for several hours until the sky was blue and the sun was on its way over the tree line. He would go home and grandmother would cook a real breakfast and they would start their day.

Of course, after sixteen years in Alaska, I grew used to morning (with the sun) changing radically every day. On the shortest day of the year (Dec 21 or so), the sun would arise somewhere around 10 a.m. - and to all you late sleepers you cheer! This just meant I was up for about 5 hours of dark before the day star arose over the Chugach Mountains. On the longest day of the year (June 21 or so), the sun would arise around 3 a.m. or so. You could actually play golf all night in the twilight, or read a book on the porch with the natural light at 1 a.m.

Jesus was often up in the early morning hours. In the temple He taught the people that came to hear him, He would pray before the sun arose, and He gave some insightful lessons to His disciples that were with him as they started their day.

The Old Testament is full of early morning events - Abraham stands in a place to meet God, Moses stands before Pharaoh, Jacob builds an altar, Joshua goes to war, Hannah worships, David leaves his sheep behind and goes to where Goliath is, Hezekiah goes with his leaders to the House of the Lord, and King Darius rushes to check on Daniel after his night in the lion's den.

What I take to heart is that I can find Him early in the morning before the cacophony of the day takes over and my life gets very busy. I know He is always there for me, but there is something special about those early morning hours. This is my personal prep time for the busy day ahead and How I Love This Time...