sunrise revelations

The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

{Psalm 19:1}

I am inexplicably grateful to be living exactly where I am. 

We are a 7-minute drive from the Atlantic ocean, and today was a day for seeing the sun rise. 

We left at 5:45am, and stood on the shore of Singing Beach in anticipation of the sunrise. 

Call me crazy, but even before we got there I had high expectations. Camera in tow, stomping in the sand to keep warm, I waited patiently for this grand event-the sun, emerging on the horizon, spilling light onto the sea and illuminating every nook beyond that. 

And so I waited.

Myself, my RA McKenzie, our brother-floor RA, Max, and the RA from the guys second floor, Nate, stood watching the horizon. Max read from Psalm 19, and I prayed for God to give me a glorious sunrise, beyond my imaginings. 

 [standing on "pride rock" as we sang that part from the Lion King]

Long and elaborate story short, pictured below is about as spectacular as it got. We waited a little longer, to see if the sun would break through those clouds on the horizon, but it didn't. By the time it got brighter, the sun had already risen behind the clouds, and the world was waking up. 

At first I was disappointed, as we turned back and climbed into the car. 

God, where was the glorious display I had pictured? 

And here is my revelation:

God is here, present, constant, always. God doesn't need to announce His arrival with the sun-He is already in everything, and the source of everything. I asked God to amaze me, and He said, isn't this enough? Look around, at the waves, at the colors. I am here!

And in this moment of reflection, I am amazed. I am amazed at all that God has done through me, and with my life. I am amazed at how blessed I am because of Him. I am in awe of the Creator. 

And standing on the edge of the ocean was more humbling than I can describe. The heavens declare the glory of God! The skies above proclaim his handiwork! 

Even the sky, painted softly with yellow and pink clouds, was...is breathtakingly beautiful. 

Right now, I am so glad and thankful for this sunrise. Not the movie poster sunrise, not the earth shattering one, but the one God painted on the edge of the world, for me to see and understand how awesome He is. 

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
    be acceptable in your sight,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

-kellyn