Early Riser
"Wisdom is radiant and unfading,
and she is easily discerned by those who love her,
and is found by those who seek her.
She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her.
One who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty,
for she will be found sitting at the gate."—Wisdom 6:12-14.
joanna campbell
Many of my spiritual friends are early risers. Early morning is their time to read, meditate, or write before the business of the day begins. I once walked around our neighborhood in the early morning, before going to the hospital to work. Now I look out of a floor-to-ceiling picture window, watch, and wait for the sun to come up and the appearance of the cardinals, blue jays, and woodpeckers at my feeder.
At the beach, I like to sit outside and feel night becoming day. I look forward to feeling the Gulf breeze and watching the water creatures gather to begin their day. The Gulf is their home. They are local. We are visitors. The lone osprey circles high above the waves. The single blue heron swoops in and slowly struts on his stilts to be as close as possible to the early morning fishermen at the water's edge, hoping he will receive their small rejections. The pelicans fly in military formation, so close to the waves that they must constantly get their feathers wet.
The early risers are like the myrrh-bearing women at the empty tomb on Easter morning, whose feast day we celebrate on August 3rd. They rise early, living in the present moment, not knowing what they will find. Each new morning offers the possibility of a resurrection experience, a new beginning—and they will find it daily as the sun majestically rises above the horizon with its color guard, especially on Sunday mornings.
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