“Every sunrise is God’s greeting; every sunset, His signature.”



(Photo by Karen Streveler, OSB)

This morning I experienced God’s personal greeting!  I sat by Watab Lake, in the inky darkness, waiting. 

God is never late; it was 5:55, Central Standard Time.  And at that moment, through an opening in the overcast sky, the sun began to rise, as Emily Dickinson says, “a ribbon at a time”. 

As if there had been a reveille call, the purple martens exited their wooden house to sing to the sun. 

A wild duck perched herself on a post to my left. . .
and stayed there for more than half an hour looking and listening. 

After taking a belabored flight, no doubt stiff from too much
standing on a tiny round space, a blackbird took the stand.  

There’s more.  The slight wind not only moved the waves downstream, but played with the leaves on most of the trees.  They were happy too:
such stability of place! such freedom to move within their circumscribed orbits!

 Not like the dozen birds who wafted easily from one branch to another, never hitting their heads but alighting-- with grace—atop
the branches. I remembered one of our Schola directors telling us to sing chant that way: “on top of the note, like the birds approach their destination; and therefore, not flat, neither distorting the chant nor
hurting ears sensitive to pitch!

Oh, what a lovely morning! What a glorious greeting from our God!  What will the next hours open up to me? 

I’ll keep on looking and listening.  Tonight I’ll be grateful to read God’s signature in the sunset!

Renee Domeier, OSB