It had been a very hard winter. In the space of about 5 months, I buried my father, had been diagnosed with and was treated for my second cancer, buried my mother, had been forced to find a new job and had supported my teen-aged son’s back surgery from a football injury. I was weary.
I had been peppered frequently with solicitations to visit Hilton Head, courtesy of Marriott, but that particular winter yielded not a single invitation. So I called them up! We needed a break. We needed respite. I needed sunrise walks at the beach. I needed restoration.
And so began years of pre-dawn strolls along that beautiful beach. On those walks, I found peace, I talked (and listened) to God. I also tried so hard to capture the beauty of the sunrise with my camera so I could relive those special moments when we returned to the real world. I took hundreds of photos. Not one came even close to the majesty I saw.
But I learned an important lesson. Breathtaking sunrises do not occur in cloudless skies. The clouds of life, like the clouds of the sky, magnify the Glory and presence of God. In a ‘cloudless’ life, we often forget God, become complacent in our relationship with Him. We neglect to thank Him, to truly worship Him, to keep Him ever-present. But when troubles arise, He is the first one to whom we go for help. And the miracle is that, through Christ, He forgives us and lets His Glory shine. Like my photos, we need to permanently remember all that He has done, does and will do…and constantly worship Him for being our Father.
Half a dozen years later, my husband became ill. Vacations and morning walks at the beach became a restorative necessity as his Alzheimer’s progressed. In the summer of 2006, I waxed poetic and I memorialized my words in a scrapbook.
I touch the sun each morning
Resplendent in the sky,
And try to grasp its beauty
With my camera’s quick lens eye.
But I cannot catch the glory told
For it’s painted by God’s hand.
With palest pinks and liquid gold,
The King touches sea and sky and land.
It changes every minute
Every scene takes on a face
Reflecting God’s great majesty
In every special space.
The birds, they seem to understand
Their roles in this great scene.
In flight, on land, their shadows grand
Lend grace and solitude serene.
I’ve learned a lot from all these walks
In this early morning light
For if you’re still, then God will talk
And hold you oh so tight.
Of first His love, unfailing love
It comes on every wave
Each ebb and flow, each bird a dove
Bringing hope and peace and grace.
So great my problems…so many pains
They’re dwarfed along that shore.
By constant waves, by many grains
Will I remember forever more?
And most of all, I’ve come to know,
That the sunrise and its story
Is ever better with some clouds
To show off God’s reflected Glory.
Thank you Jesus.
Judy Kagle Ferguson
