I’m not sure what’s going on outside this morning,

but the birds seem extra determined to wake up the sun.

I see hints of daybreak.

A silhouette of the trees begins to form against a pale blue sky.

I never doubt this daily transition.

Never wonder if night will end.

I trust the sun to rise as much as I trust my lungs to take their next breath.

And if I’m honest, I give little thought to thanking either of them.

How many other miracles of life do I take for granted?

And what would life look like if the sun decided to stay just below the horizon?

Stumbling around in the dark, I guess we’d never know.

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Maybe that’s what Daniel’s visions are all about.

Being able to see……………….beyond the sunrise.

His angel visits were exclusively for him.

Scripture says the men with him were so overwhelmed with terror they “fled and hid themselves.”

God chooses some dramatic ways to gain an audience of one.

What if every morning He’s trying to grab ours?

Ushering out all distractions and pulling our faces up toward His.

This morning He used the birds to grab mine.

Their cawing and chirping seemed louder than ever,

causing me to notice the darkness in a way I don’t normally do.

This awareness of the absence of light made me watch for its coming more closely.

I witnessed my back yard waking up this morning.

Little by little,

everything outside began to take shape as the sun quietly did what it does….

every single morning.

Our porch was there all the time.

So was our deck and the clubhouse on the hill.

Darkness didn’t take them away.

It just hid them from view.

I read from Daniel in the dark this morning.

But now the sun is up.

His visions lay quietly on the pages of my Bible

as I look at my clock (and the sky) and realize it’s way past time to get moving.

Life is like that.

Visions come and go.

Sunrises too.

And yet the miracle of them never loses its power.

It’s us.

We’re the ones who turn the pages too quickly

or drink our coffee in a rush.

Or choose to stumble in the darkness,

unaware of the power of the sun.

Or the power of His Son.

Maybe this is your moment.

Maybe this small break in your day is just what God needed in order to speak directly to you.

He has your attention.

You alone are His audience.

Soak in this moment.

There’s no angel here.

No extraordinary vision.

But there’s God…….

and you.

And that’s enough.

Soak it in.

Listen to what He has to say.

The Son has risen.

Darkness is no more.