The Sun Still Rises

I got up this morning early. Not intentionally as I am not a morning person but I’ve never recovered from this time change thing. I woke up asking God to allow me to just listen. One of my friends recently mentioned in our bible study group how we forget to listen for God’s response after we pray and therefore are communicating ineffectively. I didn’t think much of it at the time she said it just because I really felt like I did listen for God to speak to me and have on many occasions heard him so clearly. But this morning I felt like I was supposed to just sit and listen. So as the house was completely silent I slipped out of bed quietly as to not wake anyone and came into our living room that has three French doors with a view to our backyard. The sun had just begun to rise creating a gorgeous tricolored sky of blue, yellow, and pink. And even though I couldn’t see the sun yet I knew it was there and I waited in anticipation to see it rise. Like I said, I am not a morning person so I really can’t remember the last time I actually saw a sunrise. But this morning God spoke to me while I was waiting. He simply said, “the sun still rises”.

 

I wrote this on my first morning back in the states back in November. A lot has happened since then and God continues to bring the sunrise analogy back up. A few days after writing this I was in town killing time until I was to meet my mom for dinner. I was sitting in my car in a parking lot and I kept feeling like I needed to go into this bookstore. I thought it was a crazy thought and just kept sitting in my car waiting but there continued to be this nagging voice telling me I had to go in. So I got out of the car and went in not knowing why. It did not take long before I knew. On the very front display was a book with a picture of a woman holding a broken coffee cup in her hands. I had just posted less than a week before my blog about a coffee cup. If you missed that one here is a link to it https://www.hrch.org/2017/11/25/the-coffee-cup/ I knew immediately I was supposed to buy that book. It was by far my quickest shopping trip ever! No wondering around, browsing, doubts about what to buy. Probably what most guys shopping trips feel like.

The very next morning I am excited to begin reading the book God led me to. As if the picture on the cover didn’t slap me in the face hard enough there was a quote before the very first chapter even began by Rich Mullins that said, “Every morning the sun comes up anyway.” Literally 24 hours after God spoke it to me the first time, he’s using this book to speak it to me again. It’s been 6 weeks since I purchased the book, it’s only 165 pages long, and I’m still not finished. I’m going through it slowly and purposefully. I cannot even begin to tell you how much this book has helped and comforted me at exactly the right time. I will literally read something, ponder it, have questions racing through my mind about it and then start reading again and He has answered my questions for me. I already want to read it again and I’ve not even finished it yet. And NO, I’m not getting paid to advertise this book. I’ve heard about bloggers out there that profit from promoting a product! That’s insane. No one would be dumb enough to pay me for my rambling nonsense. I am just advertising how great God is and how He works in every aspect of our lives and that if we are not listening there would be so many missed opportunities.

Today’s chapter sparked this blog. At the end of it Sheila Walsh, the author of the book, shares some truths she keeps written on cards in her wallet. They are so good I would love to have each of them on my walls somewhere with artwork to match to see everyday. They said…

“I’m not home yet.

Tears are okay.

Tomorrow the sun will rise again.

God is with me whether I feel His presence or not.

Silence can be offered as worship.

I am loved.”

Are those truths not great? I pray they are a blessing to you as they have been and will continue to be to me. I am sure some of you are wondering after my last blog and our time in the states how I am doing. I did start counseling while I was in. I haven’t really had what I would call a major breakthrough but I also haven’t had a breakdown so….yeah me! What I did receive was love, support, prayers, validation, privacy, rest, and time;  for that I say thank you. It means the world to have all of you in my life as I walk this road. But the greatest thing I received when I was in was hearing God’s sweet voice giving me a promise that not only will the sun rise again but so will I.