Thoughts on Hope & Happiness from Today's Sunrise

This morning I watched the full sunrise. It was dark when I went to sit outside and it was day when I went back in. I rarely get the time to do that. Usually I'm a little late or have to leave a bit early. But I needed it this morning. I started being intentional with sunrise time a year ago. It's usually a time where Ava sits on the porch with me or goes on nature walks with me. Pushing myself to do it this week has been hard. For those of you who may have missed it, our sweet cat Ava has been missing since last Thursday. Today is day 7 without her, and my heart is quite broken over it.

While I sat and let the morning light soak into my eyes, I listened to a sermon I missed on Psalm 1. Ironically, the sermon was on happiness. My pastor defined true happiness in Christ as strength and stability. Those two words definitely have not defined me this week. The similie used in the scriptures compares happiness to a tree. I definitely don't feel like a strong tree this week. He also tied happiness to hopeful fortitude which is a concept that keeps popping up during the tougher moments of this year. More on that in maybe another blog.

Today's sunrise was special because of the few clouds that were present. I watched the clouds slowly turn lavender and peach and then to orange, pink, and violet blue and then to soft white and blue gray. Some mornings there is an instant in which the world turns from the cool shade of night to the warm shade of day. I've figured out the instant is perceptible when some clouds are present as the sun warms up the colors in the clouds. The first time I noticed it, I actually was looking at Ava walking around in the flower bed in front of my porch. It's become my favorite moment to look out for during my sunrise time. It's been a while since I've seen it, but I got to experience it this morning.

I'm not sure if Ava is coming back at this point, and in a few days for my peace of mind I'm going to have to let her go. But today I'm encouraged by the beauty of God's creation all around me and the message I listened to while gazing at that beauty. There's something so grounding about taking time to really look at the sky. It seems so much bigger in those moments. I've always found comfort in the consistency of sunrises and sunsets. No matter what chaos, celebration, or sadness is happening in life, the sun will continue to rise and set. I was also encouraged this morning that it's okay to hope for things that seem silly or insignificant in the grand scheme of life. God cares about my cares no matter how small they are. That's why He tells us to cast ALL of our cares on Him.