"Looking for Lovely"

After two weeks of acknowledging the broken, the messy, the absence of lovely, we’ve reached the point in our book study where we will begin to look, watch and anticipate God’s beauty in our lives. Yay!

Start by reading chapter 1, “Sunrise.”

Oh, ladies. There is definitely something magical about a sunrise at the beach. I feel really spoiled because I could see a beach sunrise every, single morning if I wanted to. Unfortunately, I like to spend the first moments of my day curled up in a blanket in my pajamas. That means, I don’t see the beauty of a sunrise.

But, I have seen it enough to know it’s lovely. I mean it’s lovely in picture and also in meaning. The idea of this part of creation demonstrating that a new day, a new circumstance, and new (fill in the blank) is looming just across the horizon of life is important. No matter how dark the night sky gets, sunrise is always coming. Lovely!

I don’t want to end today without recognizing that some of us may be sitting in the darkest of night skies with no idea when the sun will rise. Sister, you are not alone. We have been there. Many of us are there. Either way, we want to sit with you in the difficulty of this moment. We offer you grace and comfort but no pressure to move on quickly. I’m not afraid to sit in the space of darkness a little longer with you, because I am certain of the Light’s eventual arrival. The lovely is coming! Until then, maybe today’s sunrise could simply be the reminder of a previous season when darkness turned to light. Could this memory remind you that God is piecing together a beautiful picture for you?

God, thank you for the sunrise. Thank you for the reminder that You’re always working in lovely ways even when we can’t see it. What a gift that we get to see a demonstration of that every, single morning. Amen.

**You’ve seen the “Looking for Lovely” section at the end of this chapter. Spoiler Alert – that will be tomorrow’s assignment. So, look up sunrise time, set your clock, and be ready for an early morning start tomorrow. Where/how can you plan to experience sunrise in the morning?