The serenity of sunrise in the forest

I'm sitting on the white-granite-sand patio of our campsite sipping my morning coffee. The sun is making its way over the horizon, but I won't see it for a while because the tall pine & hardwood forest surrounds me. Only directly overhead can I see the sky blue-ing in the circle of the tree tops. My coffee is a welcome and familiar smell, but there are other pleasing odors of pine and forest that I don't often get to enjoy. A variety of birds are chirping, squawking and singing their morning songs, many of which I don't recognize, but mixed with the familiar “caw” of the crows. Water lapping the shore below, the splash of an osprey snatching breakfast from the lake and an antiphonal chorus of woodpeckers hammering in the trees adds to the morning symphony. 

There are no “people” sounds yet; most are still asleep. My phone won't disrupt the natural sounds because we are beyond cell range. Beyond the range of much of civilization, we are deep in God's remarkable creation. But God is near with His astounding blessings. Yet as thankful as I am at being immersed in these blessings of nature, I am even more thankful to be immersed in God's forgiveness, mercy and love through my savior, Jesus. The wonders of this life and this earth will all pass away and pale by comparison with the New Creation we will all enjoy one day through faith in Jesus. 

Well, there it goes, my perfect morning has been disrupted. The sounds of a diesel pickup, the smell of a badly tuned gas engine, tent poles clicking as they are dismantled, and overly loud conversations are invading the bliss of my morning. But that's the way it is with life. Sin invades and disrupts the perfect creation God intended. Nevertheless, the sun creeps over the forest horizon and a new day gets under way. I face this day and every new day with confidence that the Son of God, my brother and friend, Jesus, is also rising in my life and will one day make all things new. As beautiful as this setting is in the South Carolina forest, the New Heavens and Earth will be unfathomably more beautiful. So, I will wait expectantly and go get another cup of morning brew.