I love a good sunrise surprise. When my husband and I moved into our home almost 14 years ago, I woke him up early after our first night in the house and told him to come quickly to the living room. He came quickly thinking there was a problem and when he came to the French doors that opened to the backyard, I said, “Look at that amazing sunrise.” He agreed it was beautiful.
We love to watch the sunrise when we visit the beach, and I have seen a beautiful sunrise at the Grand Canyon… Whoa, talk about a breathtaking scene!
One morning, we had to divide and conquer with doctor appointments before school. My husband took our 10-year-old to an appointment at one end of town, and I took our 6-year-old the opposite way to have my blood drawn and then we would drop our respective kids off at school and scoot into work.
On our way to the doctor, my sweet Eli noticed the sunrise and would not stop talking about how beautiful it was, all of the colors, and how the sun was moving up in the sky. We talked about how on the other side of the world they are getting ready to go to bed while we are just starting our day.
This was just the beginning.
Eli proceeded to tell everyone that we got up early and watched the sunrise, and it was the best day ever. That day our sunrise surprise was birthed.
Each morning starts with the pitter-patter of little feet coming down the steps. Picture Eli armed with a blanket and his current stuffed toy of choice, making his way into my room with the sweetest little request, “Hey, mom, can we watch the sunrise?” I answered with a resounding “YES!”
It has almost become a habit now: we scoot our soft, comfy chair in front of the French doors and sit squished butts side-by-side watching the sunrise. We talk about the colors and wait for the sun to peek through until we see the colors, and the sun lights the whole neighborhood. Some days, we talk about the other side of the world and some days, we ask Alexa to play worship music and sing praises to God as we bask in His creation.
Even on gloomy days, we look and take notice of the gloominess and that the sunrise is hidden behind the fog and clouds, but it still shows up. I’m glad we get up early. As long as my Sweet E wants to sit and look at the sunrise surprise with me, I’m all in. It is glorious.
