Ambassadors of Morning

Image by: Jeanna Carley

A robin's song nudged me out of my cozy cabin bed and into the crisp daybreak of summer. It felt adventurous taking those first steps somewhere between grey and dawn when the world was not fully lit and the mist was lightly landing on the moist earth. With camera in hand, I trekked upwards along a knobby path before veering into the woods.

I heard the steady yelping of distant coyotes hunting for their breakfast. The previous night I completed reading Jack O’Brien’s children’s classic Silver Chief: Dog of the North, which I had found tucked away on a cabin shelf. Now grateful for the confidence gained from having read the book, I tried to ignore the shiver running down my spine as the coyotes' cries intensified.

My journey carried me over a couple of knolls where I discovered the first rays of morning light bearing through the woods. Their calm presence shone boldly, free from fear and bathed in beauty. I snapped pictures of the beams cutting through the full branches of summer. These ambassadors of morning welcomed me with wonder.

The coyote voices grew closer; they were hot on the trail of breakfast and headed in my direction. My heart dropped fearing for whatever frightened creature lay within their grasp. Determined footsteps whisked me back to the cabin. Upon reaching the safety of the porch, I plopped down on the old, weathered swing. I sighed. The rusty squeaking of the porch swing chains seemed to capture the sadness I was feeling.

Each life on earth has a story with a starting point and a stopping point. As stillness returned to the small hollow, a quiet voice within me reminded me that the Author of those stories can be trusted. Spending time in nature is one of the best ways to build trust with the Author. Because the Author who wrote your story also created nature. And neither, the Author, nor the design of creation, changes. A flower will always be a flower; a coyote will always be a coyote. The normalcy of nature is a gift that reminds us of what is authentic and special in a fast-paced, technologically saturated world.

So if you ever find yourself awakened by a gentle nudge early in the morning, arise and spend some one-on-one time with the Author in the beauty of nature. There you will always rediscover a world that still makes sense.