november 1

A new month, a new morning.

The alarm goes off at 6:15. It may as well be 2am; pitch black is my greeting.

I fumble for a pillow to wedge next to Beatrice in my stead. Tip-toe to find the pile of clothes I set out the night before: knit pants, t-shirt, socks, sneakers. Quietly close the doors behind me as I head to the kitchen to make coffee.

This has been my morning routine with very few exceptions. Alarms going off in what feels like the dead of night is not my favorite, but walking briskly every day — that is my favorite. I watch the sky change, listen to geese flying southward, feel the damp chill of autumn on my nose and cheeks. I pray, I think, I rest.

*****

I think about November 1st.

Once again, I’m blessed by God’s kindness in new beginnings. Aren’t you glad that we don’t just have a calendar marked “2012” with 365 days all in a row? And aren’t you glad we have Monday mornings every 7th day, instead of just having “Day 48,… Day 126,… Day 357,…”? And aren’t you glad we’re spinning on an axis that allows us to greet the sun afresh, starting a new day?

It’s His kindness that allows us to start again. And it’s His kindness that allows us to see those days, weeks, months, years slipping through our fingers. Life is short. Today is the day of salvation.

*****

So today is another beginning. And I’m embracing it as such: time for another month of daily blogging. It is, as I’ve written before, good for me to pause and capture the thoughts, the moments, even just the photos.