Daybreak’s Fresh Start

Daybreak’s Fresh Start

The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. Lamentations 3:22-23

Growing up on a farm, I learned that the early morning was the best time to get things done, before all the distractions of the day began to clamor for attention. As a doctor, I have continued that habit. For many years, I got up at 5:00 a.m. and drove twenty miles toward the eastern horizon, watching the sunrise and reflecting on how God’s mercies are new every morning.

At the big city hospital, I was usually one of the first doctors on the floor making rounds. This allowed me to get reports from the night shift nurses and greet the oncoming day shift. And because it was early in the morning, I also had the opportunity to speak with my patients as they woke up to hear about their dreams and how they had slept.

Medically speaking, the early hours of the morning are the most common time of day for a heart attack, stroke, or pulmonary embolism. This is due in part to low cortisol levels during the night and a sudden rise in blood pressure when the patient first awakens.

The greatest stories of God’s mercy often came during the night, and I was first on the scene to get the full picture. Even though morning is a critical time of day, it is also a time of joy, with the opening of new opportunities. The sunrise sheds light on the darkness of the night. Daybreak brings renewed hope of another day of healing.

TODAY’S RX

Watch tomorrow’s sunrise; it’s the sweet spot of the day.

God, thank you for each new day, for every breath that fills my lungs, and for every sunrise that reminds me of the hope I have in you.