Early Mornings

There is something peaceful about waking up before everyone else and rising with the sun. At one of the camps I worked at, it was the responsibility of the summer wranglers to bring the horses in every morning from the far pasture. Since the other two girls who were wranglers were not as in love with waking up early as I was, I got the job.

            Every morning I got dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and headed for the barn to get there around six am. I usually threw on a sweatshirt too, in order to keep off the morning chill and dew from the trees. I’d walk down the gravel road to the barn with my hands in my pockets praising God for another beautiful day.

            I’d get to the barn, punch in the access code, and head straight for the little kitchenette. I had a stash of muffins and grape juice hidden away just for me. I’d slug back some juice, grab a muffin and walk back through the barn to open up the heavy garage door. With the muffin stuffed in my mouth I would wrestle the door up with a heave.

Then I would swing a leg over the four wheeler we left parked inside every night. Starting it was tricky. This was always the hardest part of my morning. The four wheeler was old and persnickety. It had a mind of its own and had to be babied to get it running. Setting the muffin on the seat in front of me, it would take several tries before the cranky old thing ran.

            Finally, it would start and off I went, muffin clutched in one hand and the other on the handle bars. The horses were rarely in a close pasture. Which meant I had to zig zag up a very steep hill through the woods and cross a number of open pastures to get to them. It was heaven on earth.

            My goal was always to get my muffin eaten before I reached the bottom of the big hill. I needed both hands on the handle bars of the four wheeler so the muffin had to go! The sun was usually peeping over the horizon by this time, filtering through the trees as I drove carefully up the hill. It was always a balancing act between having enough speed to get up the hill and driving slow enough to avoid hitting a tree. There wasn’t exactly an officially path for me to drive on. But some places were better than others so I tried to stick to where I could weave between trees.

            I tended to get wet from low hanging branches and the trees dripping, but when I eventually made it to the top of the hill the sunrise was always worth it. There’s a verse in the Bible that says, “The heavens declare the glory of God…” Wow is that true! On top of the hill, staring out over the valley below with the sky waking up above me never failed to put me in awe of God’s glory.

The vault of the sky would have the most brilliant colors stretched across it. Vibrant pink’s and red’s fading into gold and then to the clearest blue as the sun rose over the horizon. There’s a moment of every morning when the sun is out, that the whole world seems to glow with a golden light. If you’re not careful you will blink and miss it. The moment when all of creation holds its breath in wonder of God’s splendor. A tiny taste of what heaven is like.

            I always tried to catch this moment, even on the busiest days. To breath deeply the summer air and let the new day wash over me. To let God’s awesomeness be the center and start of my day. Then I would continue on to my task of bringing in the horses. The horses seemed to feel the same way about mornings. Most of the time I would find them sleeping peacefully and grazing quietly. They loved the cool morning air.

Once I got them moving they often kicked up their heels and took off at a dead run for the barn. Watching them buck and caper across the grass never failed to make me smile. God’s critters love to live the life He’s given them.

I sometimes think about those early mornings with the horses. I want to strive to have that joy in my life all the time. Even in trials and sorrow God has joy available for us. We simply have to decide if we will allow Him to fill us with that joy. Sometimes in our lows we feel like joy is far away and impossible to attain. Yet this isn’t true. God has never left you.

We can’t always live on the mountain tops, but God fills us with joy to sustain us through the ordinary and the pain. Live life with joy!

Fac Recte Nihil Timere: Do Right Fear Nothing.