The Big Yellow Ball

We changed our clocks this past weekend for Daylight Savings Time which means two things for us: 1) It’s dark out when we wake at 6:45 in the morning; 2) We get to see the sunrise every morning. The sunrise has never stopped seeming miraculous to me. It also reminds me of one of my favorite memories. When Andrew was maybe three, or four at the most, he had never seen the sunrise, and wanted to very badly. I told him if he ever woke up in the early morning, to come to my room and wake me up, because this was on the east side of the house with a great view of God’s handiwork.

I shouldn’t have been surprised when bright-eyed Andrew showed up beside my bed at 3:00 in the morning. Not wanting to seem discouraging, or for him to miss the great event, I snuggled him into my rocking chair facing east in front of the window and suggested he try to sleep a little while. I then went to sleep myself, conscious though of the little curious being sitting next to me. He wouldn’t fall asleep, I just knew it. Every time I woke up and opened my eyes, he was still sitting there watching out the window, as if one blink might make him miss it. I asked him a couple different times if he could see the sun yet. He would say no, but his desire to make it was renewed each time I asked. I slept some more and when I woke I could see that the room was beginning to lighten. I asked again if he could see the sun and he said, “No, but I see a yellow ball.” I was so proud of him for his endurance, and thrilled that we could now share something that has always been an awesome event for me–God’s stamp of approval on another new day!