I took this sunrise photo recently and what came to my mind, is a favorite hymn called "Morning Has Broken". Written by Eleanor Farjeon in 1931, the poem achieved international fame when the lyrics were put to music by Cat Stevens in 1971. It became a hit, rising high in the charts both in the United States and the UK. Part of the attraction of this hymn, is not to take each day for granted but rather gratitude of experiencing a new day....
Mine is the sunlight,
mine is the morning
Born of the one light,
Eden saw play
Praise with elation,
praise every morning
God's recreation
of the new day.
As it was on the first day in the Garden of Eden, this song of praise is a reminder of creation giving thanks to the Creator in the dawn of morning. However, as our human condition became broken since the fall in Eden, there are days when mornings are less than glorious. Times of adversity, disappointments and depression can block an internal sunrise in aspirations of newness of life. None of us are immune to the hardships in life since we have all experienced the good and bad times in living. During those 'less than perfect days', there is an antidote to the toxin of sadness and despair when it overtakes and shadows any remote sense of happiness.
This song talks of praising God. What is praise exactly?? Some definitions are but not limited to...
admire, commend, cheer, compliment, approve, grateful homage. I have heard it said that praise is the devil's death knoll as it dispels darkness. Praise brings sunshine into a gray day.... and morning has broken! I return to a recent quote that I used in a past post that states: "There is beauty laced within this day... be courageous enough to find it, be kind enough to share it and at the end of the day, be wise enough to let it go."
Be sure to check out this You Tube Video of Cat Stevens singing "Morning Has Broken" and be encouraged..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we-n-Zmglt0
Until we meet again at The Turn-Up Patch on Monday, May 9th....
The season is in change as we move into early Spring when buds and blossoms appear. The color green is everywhere on pastures and hillsides alike, transforming the landscape in evidence of new life from the dullness of winter. Fog has appeared at varied times as cold and wet meets with the warming earth in atmospheric struggle. I took the below photos recently as the film of fog gives off its own beauty. Dried weeds from last year took on their own form of beauty cloaked in droplets of frozen water as the fog lifted.
Fog is described as an obscuring haze - water vapor as clouds lying close to the ground limiting visibility. It covers and envelopes what lies beyond. In unfamiliar surroundings, particularly driving, it can be a source of anxiety and confusion when the fog cloud is so thick, it blocks what is immediately ahead. This brings to mind several scriptures that can be related to a spiritual fog that requires a guiding influence....
"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear" (John 16:12) Jesus came from the Author of Wisdom, Knowledge and Truth - He had complete awareness of things past, present and future. He could only share a fragment of this understanding to His disciples - they were limited in comprehension. This particular scripture goes on to say that the Spirit of Truth comes and will guide. As time has progressed, the fog shifts and lifts, so we catch glimpses of the Eternal, but only in degrees of perception.
"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely"
(1 Corinthians 13:12). In the next verse of this scripture passage, it states that three things remain - faith, hope and love, the greatest being love.
It takes faith to venture forth in the fog - to believe in the mystery of God Himself. It takes hope to inspire when we can only partially see in His mystery. It takes love to fuel faith and hope in becoming complete, and the mystery of God is no-more and we see face to face.
Thank you for visiting the Turn-Up Patch. Please drop by again! See you again on Monday, April 25...
