Dawn

Singapore's dawns are predictable events.  Between six and seven, light will pour in from the east.  One should never assume that a bright moment of glory is going to remain for long.  It is common for the brief light to be followed by gray skies that linger for much of the day.  Yet, there is consistency to the brief moment of brightness.  It has conditioned me to rarely set my alarm clock.
Today was different.  I woke to dullness.  Given the seemingly unending sequence of sad or disturbing emails that started the night before, my emotions were in perfect sync with the day's beginning.  I found myself struggling to muster the courage to get started.  Even a simple prayer of the blues did not make it past my lips.  As I wrestled with the Spirit that rested on my soul, I found myself crying within, hoping that somehow God could reach me in the funk I found myself in.  Even as hope was drifting out of sight, a shaft of gold punched through the gray.  I cannot recall a morning sequence like this one.  It was the norm played out in reverse.
I watched, perplexed and yet quietly stunned in awe.  From the gray emerged a soft gold light.  Moving in and through the skyscrapers that crowd Singapore central business district, the gold filled hope of a new dawn soon bathed everything in a soft warm glow that demanded one's attention.  I know the dawn was not just for me, but was an answer to my cry.  I understand that there are natural reasons for the way this dawn came to life, yet in my need is was a small miracle.  I am certain that everything I witnessed was simply nature at play; even so, it was and is alive in my heart.
At times life closes in on us.  When Evil “ordered the men taken out of the room for a short time,” (Acts 5.35) they probably thought it was all over.  It was not then; it is not now.  God and Hope will win.