Oh, what a beautiful morning at Rodanthe by the Sea
One thing that will always stay etched in my mind is the beauty and glory of waking up to a awe-inspiring sunrise by the sea. The picture above, provided to me by Jim Feaster, the owner of the website PlanetRodanthe.com and the photographer for beautiful works like this, masterfully represents exactly what my mind remembers. Every morning of the summers of my youth, the "Summers at Old Nags Head," allowed me to witness the endless joy of watching the sun slowly rise out of the ocean and show the majesty of God each morning. Each sunrise was unique in its beauty, if sometimes only with very minor variations. But what does it tell me and what am I supposed to take from that? Well, for me it's quite simple and it's that the God who gives us this beautiful wake up call expects us to carry forth His message and mission to all we come in contact with each day of our life. Sounds simple and easy but it's not, but He'll show us the way if we have patience and maintain our active contact with Him.
Looking at the beautiful picture and the developing cloud formation above, each of us can imagine something that we see in the picture. Depending on the viewpoint and attitude of the beholder it can be one of two extremes or anything in between. The extremes can be positive or negative. For example, at the top of the picture I see a developing canine form. If we focus on good, it is becoming man's best front, but if we look at it from a dark perspective, we might see a ravenous wolf searching for prey. Then below, in the darker clouds just above the water I see a developing hand. And again, if we look at it positively, we might see a hand which is developing an upraised index finger pointing skyward and signifying the power of God Almighty above. From a darker perspective, we might see someone who is "flipping us off" so to speak. It's all in the perspective, just like the concept of a glass being half empty or half full. To me, it's clear that focusing on the positive always helps us to move in the right direction with our thoughts and action, thereby depriving the evil one of an opportunity to infect us with thought, word and action. And we are fortunate that God loves us because if He didn't, that hand might very well be "flipping us off" and we would deserve it, but it's not His way.
Regardless of what anyone else might say, I know in my heart that the beauty of a morning along the sea is a time of peace and serenity and it's the perfect place for a little private communion with God. Now if we don't live on the sea, the sunrise can send us the same message from anyplace we might be when it rises. Just think, the synchronization of the earth with the sun and the moon and the perfect orbits of all the other planets in our solar system didn't happen by accident. No, it was God, doing what He did in His infinite wisdom to send us messages every day of our lives through nature. That creates the situation at a time to ponder what nature tells us and yes, get up early in the morning at least occasionally to witness it first hand. It's a gift from a gracious and loving God and with the perspective of looking at things for the good, it seems certain that the right conclusion will be reached. God bless you all and have a blessed day. You are truly blessed merely by the fact that God granted you another day. Praise Him always.
Looking at the beautiful picture and the developing cloud formation above, each of us can imagine something that we see in the picture. Depending on the viewpoint and attitude of the beholder it can be one of two extremes or anything in between. The extremes can be positive or negative. For example, at the top of the picture I see a developing canine form. If we focus on good, it is becoming man's best front, but if we look at it from a dark perspective, we might see a ravenous wolf searching for prey. Then below, in the darker clouds just above the water I see a developing hand. And again, if we look at it positively, we might see a hand which is developing an upraised index finger pointing skyward and signifying the power of God Almighty above. From a darker perspective, we might see someone who is "flipping us off" so to speak. It's all in the perspective, just like the concept of a glass being half empty or half full. To me, it's clear that focusing on the positive always helps us to move in the right direction with our thoughts and action, thereby depriving the evil one of an opportunity to infect us with thought, word and action. And we are fortunate that God loves us because if He didn't, that hand might very well be "flipping us off" and we would deserve it, but it's not His way.
Regardless of what anyone else might say, I know in my heart that the beauty of a morning along the sea is a time of peace and serenity and it's the perfect place for a little private communion with God. Now if we don't live on the sea, the sunrise can send us the same message from anyplace we might be when it rises. Just think, the synchronization of the earth with the sun and the moon and the perfect orbits of all the other planets in our solar system didn't happen by accident. No, it was God, doing what He did in His infinite wisdom to send us messages every day of our lives through nature. That creates the situation at a time to ponder what nature tells us and yes, get up early in the morning at least occasionally to witness it first hand. It's a gift from a gracious and loving God and with the perspective of looking at things for the good, it seems certain that the right conclusion will be reached. God bless you all and have a blessed day. You are truly blessed merely by the fact that God granted you another day. Praise Him always.
RSS Feed