I'm weary of the nights . . . when pain, misery, suffering, and brokenness are common experiences in life . . . where deadlines and multitasking, telephones and computers and cell phones exploit me, as though I am subservient to them . . . when busyness and to-do-lists manipulate my moment by moment living and I exhale with heaviness as I give in to running the path they've chosen for me . . . when the people who matter most are the ones who receive the least of me . . . when tears flow from deep wells of sadness and hurt.
"The night is far gone . . ." Romans 13:12
"Weeping may endure for the night . . ." Psalms 30:5
Today I read that the time of night has almost been spent . . . its season is coming to an end. I also remembered another passage describing the deep well of struggle that our tears draw from is nearing emptiness . . . its usefulness is ending. However, in this body that is mine, which dwells in this place I call now, I cry out in desperation "How much longer Lord? I'm tired. How much longer?"
And then I'm reminded as I read the second part of each passage . . .
" . . . the day is at hand."
" . . . joy comes in the morning."
When morning dawns, I never doubt the coming of day. I'm aware with the first breaking of the sun as it pierces the night that daylight is coming. Daylight will soon be upon me. This is a reality. Nothing can stop the rising of the Sun.
Then I realize . . .
The Son has already risen to defeat the night and with His coming dawn has already broken upon me. His entrance into this shadowy world, ripped apart the veil of that moonless, wretched darkness, and light transfixed its rule. He has dawned upon me.
Now, I know.
Just as I sit with my coffee in the darkness of each early morning and watch as the first rays of light materialize, waiting and watching as the day appears just as it should; so now I wait and watch.
But while I wait, I long . . . I yearn . . . I dream.
I’m longing for a simpler day . . . a day when every space, crack, and crevice of my life is filled with the stillness that comes from knowing and being . . . a day when stress and misery and pain are foreign concepts and while words might exist to describe them, they're not found in my mouth . . . a day when people matter more than performance or successes or all the materialistic or task-oriented objectives I place in front of them, and I treat them with the love and respect that is rightfully theirs.
I’m yearning for a natural rhythm . . . a moment in time when life passes slowly by, like the shadows made by the sun as it slides along the blue sky, and my enjoyment of that moment is pure and uninhibited . . . a rhythm that involves a long, deep breath as I stare in bewilderment and joy at the eternal span of the life I live . . . where the steady pulse I feel is the beating of my heart as it anticipates the joy found in being still . . . where sleep is right as rain and rest is as natural as breathing.
I’m dreaming of a joy-filled time . . . when each moment is brand new and I run out with giddiness to meet it like a child dancing in a field of daisies . . . when simplicity causes me to pause and gaze in wonder at the splendor it represents . . . when hope rests upon my shoulders as I feel its weight and know its power and allow it to settle upon me and surround me . . . when laughter dwells alongside contentment and, like family, they live deep within my heart and mind.
While I wait, I do know one thing for certain. I am unquestionably confident that absolutely nothing can stop the coming of His Day, when . . .
The Son shines brightly upon me . . . and you!