I didn’t forget you. I didn’t forget the sunrise. Don’t miss this. God brought the sun up that day. Just as He had thousands of times before. He didn’t forget the task and He didn’t forget us. We never have to wonder if He will bring the sun up in the morning. He brings it up with the same enthusiasm He had on that very first day. He didn’t forget. He never has. He never will.
Further, though occurring daily, it’s no monotonous task for God.
As I watched the colors unfold and the sun begin to make its full appearance, I realized, this is actually a sacred, magnificent rhythm, an ordinary yet holy event. One I’d walked past a million times, without considering the magic within it. I was, in a single moment, reminded of both God’s perfect consistency and the magic of common occurrences. The ultimate fresh start.
I looked down at Caroline and smiled. Together, we marveled at the beautiful sunrise (the brilliant kind that happens only after a rainstorm) as it unfolded in front of us.
She made a shape with her fingers and thumb, like a duck opening and closing its beak, and pinched my hand. “Only the people who get up early get to see this. So we’re the early birds,” she said, “and this is our secret handshake.” I laughed then, but Caroline, Tyler (her twin brother), and I still do that same handshake now, months later.
That morning, God reminded me of His absolute certainty. He reminded me that when everything else in the world feels unsure and ever-changing that He is almighty, forever, and solid. He reminded me that sometimes a fresh start isn’t found in a magnificent transformation, but in focusing our hearts on the signs, the slivers, the surprises and delights right in front of us. There is magic in the ordinary, if we dare to see it and create it.
The LORD’s unfailing love and mercy still continue, fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise (Lamentations 3:22–23 GNT).
