Sunrise Reflections

The sun rises on all of us,

no matter who we are,

no matter where we are,

no matter how dark the night has been.

The sun rises on all of us,

may the rays of light touch us,

may the rays of warmth warm us,

may the rays of  light awaken us to life.

As I write this another beautiful Canadian winter sunrise is starting to fill our sky.
It is such a beautiful reminder of God's amazing creativity and such a sign of hope.
Slowly the darkness shifts to light and then a glow and then an amazing piercing light
of deep shades of orange, pink, purple and yellow crash through on the horizon and
extends its light to fill our day. Some mornings the brilliance is there for just a few moments and other days it lingers and slowly unfolds its wonder.

I am always in awe of a sunrise as they remind me of how God is at work in our lives. I have a quote in my room that reads, Hope: God Breaks In. A sunrise seems to best capture that truth. As the sun breaks into the night and creates the day I am reminded that our God continually breaks into our lives and fills us with hope, strength, courage and peace. Maybe at times what seems just for a fleeting moment, and maybe at other times it slowly builds into our lives. We must remember that both are gift and graces. God is always with us and yet is always "entering" our lives because God's love and mercy is so great, boundless and everlasting.

Lord
your light shines
on our neighbors and our friends,
on those who are strangers to us,
on those who we think are enemies,
on those who seek to walk in light,
on those who are lost in darkness,
on those who radiate joy and peace,
on those who believe and on those who do not, 
on those who are in pain,
on those who are rejoicing,
on every child, women and man,
on the young and the old,
on all of creation,
and for this we give you thanks.
Amen.


This week I hope you can take in a sunrise and be able just to stop and give thanks to God for the light that fills your life and light bearers who help light your journey.