Deep Calls to Deep
by David Mercer
All rights reserved, copyright © 2008 by David Mercer
When I was little I sometimes rose early to claim the morning blessings. In the summer, I would awaken before the rest of the world to go in my bare feet to the cool outside, where the day's clatter had not yet begun. The air was still, the West Texas sky was a clear blue, and even the cars remained dormant in their garages for another hour or so. I walked with the warble of the mockingbird's first song serenading me. Since those days, nothing has matched the clarity that was mine in those early morning moments.
Usually, my mom was the first one up for the day. She spent her morning solitude in her soft chair, with a table next to her that was piled high with devotional literature, commentaries, and poetry, along with her steno pads full of notes. She wrote two books in that chair during her mornings. Occasionally, I would wake up before the others and have Mom all to myself. I told her about dreams I had in the night while she listened with interest. Even now, when I go home, I still wake up before everyone else to visit with her and tell her about my dreams, as well as discuss theology
I also remember a summer morning at my grandparents' home where I woke up in the blankets and sheets that was my makeshift bed on the floor. I wanted to get up but everyone else was still asleep, including my brother and sisters who were in the small room with me. I couldn't move without stepping on someone so I lay still, listening to their soft snoring, thinking about the upcoming events of the day. I knew we would go to the park to feed the ducks and visit the Polar Bear Ice Cream Parlor where Granddaddy would buy me two dips of ice cream for my cone.
The breeze from the open windows was cool and I snuggled deeper into the covers to fall asleep again. When I woke later, the others were up and Granddaddy was cooking breakfast--I can still smell his spicy pork sausage and scrambled eggs. I knew we would also have biscuits with jam as part of the meal. A perfect beginning for the day.
There have not been many mornings like these, but the ones I've experienced continue to give me joy and calm when I call them up in my memory. When I think of them, sometimes it helps me understand the next step I should take in life, or at least for the day.
"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul" (Psalm 143:8).
Morning Memories