At my Grandma's church, the one with the wood floors and "old time religion", they were fond of thanking God for waking up that morning. As a kid, I couldn't relate. Every day was a given, of course. I assumed they were thankful because they were old, as a kid, everyone is old, and how long they were going to go on living was an active concern. At times when I am sick, I can certainly relate to that. But, thankfully, I'm not often that sick, so I often don't have an active appreciation to God for "just" waking me up.
This morning, as I looked out my sunny window, I found myself thanking God for this new morning. I realized that I had claimed my own meaning of a new day on which to anchor my thanks to God; another chance. Each day I get up is a opportunity to do something new, to make different and better choices.
I've been stuck in an unhelpful loop lately, doing the same thing over and over. This morning I was filled with gratitude in knowing that today I had a chance to do something different and new, to right the ship. No matter how bad things get, whether from circumstance or our own making, each day is a truly miraculous opportunity to make a different choice. No matter how amazing the days behind me have been, in the morning I get to set my sights on new challenges.
I'm grateful to God for the gift of each and every morning. Christ's resurrection inspires us to know that no defeat need be final, we can always rise again. What do you want your morning to be?
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Luke 24:1-5