It wasn’t easy starting out. Some 2 years ago, I had determined to start
an early morning exercise regime after years of letting my body go its
own way. I figured I had better do something more than just huffing and
puffing up the house stairs every day if I am supposed to take care of
this ‘old shell’ of a body properly, as God meant me to. And that was how the morning walks started. Nothing complicated, you understand – no fancy exercise machines, no nice jogging track in some beautifully-landscaped park. Just a short 20 minute round of alternate walking and jogging round a small school field-cum-playground near my house 3x a week. It took some getting used to. But it’s so true that discipline builds a habit. I guess when we know we should do something, we will do something about it. So for the past 2 years, I have been faithfully getting up and out of the house into the darkness of pre-dawn mornings to do my thing. It has to be pre-dawn as school-days mean work begins early. I call it my morning walk with God,as it was only natural that I incorporate my previous routine of seeking His face before I start off each day. As I step out of the house every time and head out to the field, I am reminded this was how God meant it to be, for right from the beginning, after He created Adam and Eve, He actually walked with them daily. So what I had meant to be a mere exercise regime to keep this old body healthy has evolved into such a blessing... The minute I round the corner that leads to the field, I am greeted by the deafening crescendo of chirping birds and cawing crows. Their song rises up like a greeting prelude to welcoming a new day's birth. It's as if I have stepped into another world, for but a moment ago, the air was still embalmed in the silence of darkness. I wonder how these creatures seem to know instinctively that dawn is coming even as the world slumbers on. Interestingly I have noticed at precisely the same hour each time a flock of crows would be flying across the field heading towards a clump of trees near the houses. It's like a "fly-past" instead of march-past. Somehow they always nest in the same trees. It's as if they know this is their hour, their home. Gets me wondering how is it humans seem to have lost their "homing" instinct for their Creator-God??
And as I breathe in the cool morning air trudging the wet grass under my feet, I realize it’s impossible not to praise God for each new day that I wake up to. In the beginning, the darkness was uncomfortable, scary in fact. Running in circles with just a couple of street lamps casting dim shadows around you is not much fun. But it was in the semi-darkness that I discovered the reality and nearness of God. When I couldn’t see much beyond my own shoes as I plodded along the grass slippery with dew , I understood that in life, when I am groping around in the dark, not knowing what's ahead, wondering if it's safe, I can just put one leg in front of the other, in confidence that although I don't know many things, God knows all things and is in control. I am comforted that "He who watches over me will not slumber...He is my shade at my right hand; the sun will not harm me by day, nor the moon by night... for the Lord will keep me from all harm...He will watch over my life; the Lord will watch over my coming and going both now and forevermore"(Psalm 121:3-8). And the words of that old hymn ‘Morning by morning new mercies I see…Great is Thy faithfulness’ take on fresh meaning. Alone with my Maker, no matter that darkness surrounds me all about, I bring Him my songs of thanksgiving and gratefulness for another day of life, held as I am in the safety of His arms..
And as I cast my eyes over to the distant hills, it is as if an invisible painter is at work, splashing hues of colors across the palette of heaven in an ever-changing daily kaleidoscope. One time the sky could be brilliant orange, and within moments it would transform into the softest of pink blushes. Another time the blues just blow the mind, whilst on cloudy days, greys certainly exceed a mere 50 shades. I am reminded my God is as dependable as the sun rise, even though sometimes the clouds of life mar my view of Him. I don't need to 'see' Him to know He is there all the time every time. The most fascinating thing that never fails to amaze me is that no 2 sunrises are ever the same. I could come out at the same hour and find a brand new dawn unfolding before my eyes every time. And my spirit gets lifted up knowing I have got such an awesome God who is able to take the same old life, same old problems, same old whatever and make it all new and
beautiful. No wonder the apostle Paul cried out, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!" (Rom.11:33).
Human beings complicate life so much. We debate, dispute and doubt God because of this, that or the other happening or not happening, as if God's a theory to be proved or disproved. Yet how easy it is to miss the most magnificent "God-moments" in life when we no longer bother enuf to make time and space for the simplest of everyday things ....like a sun-rise.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"...........
2 Corinthians 5:17
For fotos of just 2 days sun-rise in TTDI , click here
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