After sometime of tossing and turning in bed my toddler decided we go to the rocking chair by the fireplace at five in the morning. Looking out from our bedroom door I could see the fire was dead. With our windows slightly opened I could hear the howling sound of the wind outside cutting through the leaves of pines like a chainsaw.
The last thing I wanted was to get separated from the warmth of my blanket. Besides I really wanted to get a bit more sleep. But try to tell that to a toddler who had made up his mind. It would be easier for me to tell my Jack Russell terrier to go back to his kennel when he really wanted to play outside.
Collecting his small blanket I carried him to the rocking chair beside the cold fireplace. He quickly snuggled in my arms then laid down on my chest hugging the soft blanket around him. With a gentle rocking motion he soon went back to sleep.
The outside world was still wrapped in darkness. I tried to listen to the jolly chirping of early springtime birds which usually come around this time of year, but I could only hear the fierce blowing of the wind from down the canyon. I knew my sleeping time was over. I gently placed my sleeping child in bed and went to begin my day.
I marveled how pleasant it is to wake up early in the morning before the first rays of sunlight break the darkness of the night. I couldn’t help but thank my Creator for the promise that however dark the night had been, He set the sun to rise in the morning and I can start a new day.
The promptings of the Holy Spirit are more audible when our ears are open to discern the tiniest sound in the dead of silence than when they are close, to shut off the noise around us. It is that still, small voice at the break of dawn that quickens the heart and signals the mind how to go about our day.
True, it is disturbing to listen to the frightening noise of the wind outside, but the windows in our home protect us from the loud sound and help us get into a deep sleep at night. Like our home, our souls have windows that we can choose to close or open for whatever we want to let in or out.
