A diffused glow spreads across the sky, as if someone is shining a light beyond the horizon and just below it. “Diffused,” I say, because this glow is neither direct nor clear. Not a typical sunrise, to be sure. Fog, perhaps, or haze. I am not wearing a watch on this early morning walk, but I judge the time to be about 6:45 a.m.
I try to listen to God on these walks, although my brain often has difficulty staying focused. Thoughts flash in rapid succession, thoughts holy and profane, significant and worthless. There must be three persons vying for attention, I think — God, Satan and myself. This morning I will try harder to ignore the latter two and hear whatever God might say.
The birds are unusually quiet. The haze must have them spooked. Or perhaps they decided to sleep in, this shrouded early morning. “What a picture of my life,” I reflect. “We live in a hazy world, never seeing the future before it arrives.” God gives us one day at a time. We trust him constantly for tomorrow.
I turn the corner past tall fences and shrubs that define a series of comfortable homes. Then I see it in the sky — a gigantic arch stretching from horizon to horizon! Imagine a gray rainbow without any colors, and you will picture almost exactly what I see. And as I look, another thought surfaces to my conscious mind. “An archway to the future. God knows what is ahead, although I do not, and he will always be there when I arrive.”
Shortly I become aware of chirping birds and soon the haze is gone. The arch has disappeared. The sun is shining as usual. Philosophical reflections subside into the subconscious. A new day has come. I return home confident in the assurance that whatever it might bring, God will be there, too.