Morning Star

Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the world

Sweet the rains new fall, sunlit from Heaven
Like the first dewfall on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God’s recreation of the new day

Although we often think Cat Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam) was the writer of these lyrics, these beautiful words were actually written before he was even born by Eleanor Farjeon.  I think of this  song almost every morning – every morning I sit at my desk that is.

Today’s picture is a snap of the morning from my desk.  You can’t see it very well, but about mid-picture, a third of the way over from the left is a tiny white light, around 9:00.  Not the one to the right(house lights), but the faint mid-light.  The picture (or the photographer) doesn’t do this light justice.  It is a brilliant bright light.  It looks like a star to me because you can easily see five points and it actually twinkles.  I see this bright white every morning in the east about 5:00 a.m.  The fascinating thing about this bright white is that it moves so very quickly.  When this light first comes to view on the top of the ridge, no kidding, you can visually see it moving.  Believe it or not you can tell the time of day by this bright light.  It is a great reminder of how quickly our earth is rotating.

I call this light my morning star.   My practice is to pray of a morning in the dark.  Today, I hum Morning Has Broken.  I look at this star and speak to my Lord and I marvel.  Ah…the work of His hands…A little research has told me that this work is the planet Venus.  I don’t understand the rendezvousing of the lights in the Milky Way, but I do know that I can see Venus better sometimes than others.  Sometimes it is only 38,000,000 miles away, sometimes a little bit more.  Ponder that.  If we keep track of the trajectory of Venus, we can see it throughout the day sky – it’s just that bright.  The super interesting thing about Venus to me, again I know nothing about the movings of the lights in the solar system, in the evenings when I walk to the mailbox, toward the west, there it is again, bright as can be.  Venus rises with the sun and sets with the moon.  Although I know my God never sleeps, it gives me comfort to think that He rises with me in the morning and stays until I rest my eyes.  And then He stands watch.

Here’s what gets me.  I’ll be looking at Venus and blink and it’s gone, and the next minute it’s there.  Maybe a cloud moved in.  Maybe the earth’s rotation changed its rising pattern.  Maybe I wasn’t looking in the right place.  Maybe I was looking where I thought it would go and it didn’t.  Maybe I just plain closed my eyes and refused to see it.  But, just because I cannot see Venus does not mean it has fallen from the sky.  It doesn’t mean it is not still there.  It doesn’t mean that it is not shining.  It doesn’t mean that it is not standing watch.  The view may be obstructed temporarily by a cloud or so, or the whole orbit of Venus may have changed and I didn’t, won’t, or can’t change my direction to see it.  For whatever the reason, I’ve lost sight of it.

I, Jesus…I am the bright and morning star.  Revelation 22:16

As the softest light starts moving darkness, breaking morning, Venus has now moved to 12:00.  I can see it very clearly, brilliantly shining, twinkling.  I again think of the works of His hand and God’s creation of the new day.

Look up into the heavens.  Who created all the stars?  He brings them out one after another, calling each by its name.  And he counts them to see that none are lost or have strayed away.  Isaiah 40:25-26

Lord, keep us ever in your sights today from east to west, but more importantly Lord, may we keep you ever in our sights today from morning to night.  Lord, may we be reminded by your whole constellation that there may be obstructions, courses may change, but you never ever leave us from eye open to eye close, from light to darkness to light.  We praise with elation, we praise every morning.  Amen.