Small Signs #2 - Morning Stillness
Why are the moments between darkness and dawn so very still?
The night voices quiet themselves and the morning birds wait for the first rays of light.
Stillness.
I open my eyes and I, too, wait. As the first rays of light peek through the trees, the morning noises, one by one, increase their volume. Another day. Another new morning reminds me of the words from Isaiah, "Morning by morning He wakens - wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught."(Isaiah 50:4)
I am discovering the quiet before dawn is what rescues me from the perils of the day. Stillness and quiet waiting help me to hear the voice of God, assuring me that the One who brings His first rays of light to creation is also bringing me a ray of light, a ray of hope, a ray of guidance.
Do not miss the quiet before dawn. Admittedly, sometimes I do, but choosing to miss the lonely, quiet place of silence is dangerous. Henri Nouwen, in his book Out of Solitude says: "Somewhere we know that without a lonely place our lives are in danger. Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, without distance closeness cannot cure. Somewhere we know that without a lonely place our actions quickly become empty gestures."
Where is that place of "somewhere?
The answer lies in the words of the Advent reading:
"God wants to open the heart before it opens itself to
the world; before the ear hears the innumerable voices of the day, the early hours
are the time to hear the voice of the Creator and Redeemer. God made the
stillness of the early morning for himself." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God Is
In the Manger)
Open my heart, God, to your day and let me always show up as you wait for me in the stillness of the early morning.
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