I stand stock still in the rising sun, clutching my container of hot tea steaming and drinking in the deep chill of a fall morning.  I have a few precious moments to dwell alone here between school bus rounds; between silence and mayhem, between quiet and loudness, between peace and playground pounding with happy children spilling off big yellow buses. 

As I watch, the sun journeys and still it amazes me to think that no, the sun is not the item in motion; this planet huge is the one propelling forth.   That in and of itself is a miracle.  I feel an invitation to life as its rays peek over the tips of leafy trees, beckoning me to include myself in the wonder that is now, today, this moment.

All of life is an invitation.  From the moment God designed me to come to earth, He has been asking me to participate in this amazement of being a living, breathing soul who walks and laughs, moves and works, feels joy and sorrow, wonder and pain.  It’s in quiet moments like these, when I will to slow down the distractions around me, draw myself in and allow Him to speak, that I get a glimpse of what being is all about.  

I discover that being is….

….living the daily moments that go too quickly by.   

….moments of awe at the natural order of things I have become achingly used to.

….knowing life as good because God gave it as a gift to me.

I wrap these thoughts around me, cloak myself in them for the day.  I press my mind into these truths and cling to this God-connection I’ve just made, knowing that I will need it later to see me through the ordinaries where I live.  The tether to Him must be strong as I go through the bill paying, grocery shopping, laundry rotating, car driving, problem solving scenes of my life.  It’s what gets me through.

I know I’ve discovered a nugget standing here, a glimpse of pure gold that seems to crystallize all that is around me.  It clarifies life and shows me that when I stop and pay attention, the glory shines.

I hear the roar of a bus.   I hear the whisper of God.

And so my day begins.  His moments sustain me.

What a gift.