Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Orange Moon Wednesday, May 18, 2022 "Seeing Loved Ones"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…


"Seeing Loved Ones"

   

     I have the distinct pleasure most mornings of seeing our eldest daughter, Marie.  We work out at the same gym, at the same time, and are both characterized by weird body clocks.  So, 4:3o a.m. has become a special time, and I always look forward to seeing Marie.

   Of course, it is also wonderful to "see" the Lord each morning before seeing Marie.  By this, of course, I refer to prayer, Scripture, and writing these devotionals.  I am most alert, conscious, and able to think when first arising.  Conversely, by 7 in the evening, my system begins to rapidly wind down (almost makes me wonder if I was meant to be a farmer!).  Others in my family are just the opposite.  My wife Frances and our youngest daughter Emmie would be late to bed - way late! - and later to rise if the responsibilities of life allowed.  I am not sure about our son, Noah, although I suspect nearly two decades in the Marine Corps and law enforcement has geared him to catch sleep whenever and wherever.  Whatever the case, we all have our clocks, both bodily and otherwise, and as a family, it could be said we cover both the early and the late shifts.

   I share this with you to offer encouragement that whatever our schedule, we greet the day by greeting the Maker of it.  By this, I do not mean that we all must have long seasons of prayer and Scriptural pondering when first arising (you don't even have to write a devotional! :)  ).  Some people's brains and body chemistry do not allow for cogent thought upon first light.  Various times of the day will find believers alertly approaching the throne of grace, based on whatever suits one best.   However, we all can begin each day by acknowledging our Heavenly Father with praise and thanksgiving, requests for the grace of His leading and enabling, and the acknowledgment of our privileged calling to reflect well upon our Lord in all things.  Much can happen in such prayers of the heart, so long as one comes to God in humility, faith, submission, and the sincere desire that the day at hand will be a day consciously known as in His hand.   

   "That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee" (Proverbs 22:19).

    Seeing a loved one early in the morning greatly blesses my heart (and reminds me of seeing Marie for the first time, in the wee hours of the morning of her birth - a story for another day).  "Seeing" another Loved One at the very beginning of the day makes the blessing even more blessed.  Indeed, may our Heavenly Father make known to us this day, that is, His day, wherein He will be with us in all things and every moment as the One who loves to see us more than we love to see Him.

 "When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face, my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek."
(Psalm 27:8)
"He shall hear my voice."
(Psalm 55:17)
"The prayer of the upright is His delight."
(Proverbs 15:8)
"Let Me see thy countenance, let Me hear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice."
(Song of Solomon 2:14)

Weekly Memory Verse
   "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him."
(I John 4:9)

  











































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