Joy in the Morning

Psalm 130:6

I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.

On the third day of Christmas, I awoke as I have for the past three weeks to my puppy ready to go out and greet the morning.  As I opened the door of her crate, she leapt up with joy, so happy to see me and so happy to be alive.  This small, but growing, 11-week old apricot standard poodle reminds me of our hearts and souls.

I have often thought of this Psalm 130 as one who has sat and watched in fear beside a child’s bedside, waiting for the morning, watching the clock until I could call the doctor’s office for help.  But, instead, today, I thought of it with joy not fear.  With joy, my heart rises up to greet the Lord in the morning.

When I was young, I would wake early.  The rule was in our house that I could get up any time I wanted, but I could not wake my mom until six.  I would get up before my two brothers and slip out to the back yard to the swing set.  There I would start my day as I had finished it, swinging and singing.  There was joy in the morning.

During the Christmas season we remember that we have been given a sign:  a babe in the manger.  This is the sign for us, a sign that God loves us and we are God’s children.  Throughout January, let us take this knowledge of being loved and let it grow in us like the leaping of a puppy, like the singing in the morning.  Let us live in the joy of the morning.

As we move forward into the year, let us do so with joy, filled with the love of God, remembering our baptisms.  We wait for the Lord and watch for the morning.  Like a puppy, like a child, my heart jumps with joy in the morning.