Great Ball of Fire

Monday mornings are just that…Monday mornings. 5am and the alarm goes off. I question why I haven’t quit my job. Then I remember that bills continue to show up and it’s a rude reality-check that tells me why I must get up at such an ungodly hour. Ugh….

Those that know me well, husband (Glenn) and BFF (Kristine), can attest to the fact that I might be slightly, and I mean SLIGHLY, grumpy in the mornings. I’m not the kind that will jump out of bed and hit the ground running. Oh no, no, no. I leave that nonsense for someone else. Me, I like to get going slow enough to give my mind the ability to engage, before I make any sudden moves.

But here we are…the alarm has gone off and I must rise and go to work. Oh joy!

I stumble through getting dressed, make a half-ass attempt at doing something with my hair, plaster on some makeup, feed the dog and make my coffee. I think I’m ready.

On the way up the driveway, I stop to open the door of the chicken coop to let the ladies run free for the day. Here we go.

As I am driving down Meadow Vista Road, I catch my first glimpse of today’s sunrise and I literally hear myself whisper “Wow”. Quiet and reverently as not to disturb what I am seeing. It is glorious! Magical even. But the road winds through a forest of trees and I can only imagine what the sky will look like when I come out of the thicket at the end. As I approach Meadow Vista Park, I make a split-second decision to pull into the parking lot to take a minute to enjoy the view. It looks like I’m not the only one drawn in by what is happening in the Eastern sky. There are multiple cars in the parking lot. Some drivers even got out of their vehicles and are gaping at the scene in front of us. One guy specifically caught my attention. He’s standing outside the driver’s door, coffee mug in hand with his mouth WIDE open. He was rather entertaining to watch.

But looking at the sky, I can totally understand his reaction. The sun is rising amongst a sea of clouds. It reminded me of pictures I’ve seen that depict what people think it will look like when Jesus returns. I mean WOW! Everyone had their cell phones out and was busy taking pictures. Me included. I snapped a few, took another moment to say “Good morning God. Thank you for your present”, before turning back out on the road and heading to work. Driving down Placer Hills Road I’d occasionally catch another glimpse in my rear-view mirror and I already knew I wasn’t done gazing at this awesome display. I know that there is a large turnout at the freeway onramp and I’m planning on stopping there for another quick peek. Apparently, once again I’m not the only one that is in awe. Several more cars are pulled over and the same scene as at Meadow Vista park is unfolding here. I snapped a few more pictures and headed down the freeway. Already, this Monday morning was turning out to be pretty spectacular. All of a sudden, I pass an area on the freeway that has a completely unobstructed view of the sunrise and I am blown away. I make a hasty decision to take the next off-ramp and turn back on the freeway frontage road. A wise decision. I come back to the spot that sits on a slight rise and the view is just stunning. I take another moment to thank God for giving me this gift. I snap a few more pictures and decide that if I don’t commit to staying on the road, I will certainly be late for work. *sigh*

So, down the road I go. Every so often, I sneak a peek into my rear-view mirror to watch as the great ball of fire is now breaking lose from its nighttime hiding place. No longer is it painting the clouds in magical shades of orange and lavender. Now it’s taking over and stretching out its rays across the Easter sky and upwards. All too soon the magic moment is gone. But I feel blessed to have been given such a treasure today. Truly blessed. This Monday is going to be awesome. Why? Because God made sure I knew “He’s got this”. Yes…just like every other day. But today He wanted to make sure I had a bit more assurance. He wanted to make sure I had a smile on my face when I walked through the front doors of my office building. And here I am…smiling.

Good morning God. Good morning world. It’s Monday and it’s a great day!