Sunrise

You know the feeling you get when you wake up early to leave for vacation while it is still dark? That's the feeling I started my day off with-a mixture of tiredness, excitement, and anticipation. Wednesday morning, three of my friends and I left the apartment at 5 AM to watch the sunrise on Cheyenne Mountain. We packed the freshly-made muffins and fruit in a picnic basket and toted our creamed coffee in a cooler as we prepared for this glorious morning.

The drive up the mountain was longer than I anticipated-full of switchbacks-but as we climbed higher and higher, the landscape was breathtaking. At one point, we pulled over just to catch a glimpse of the city lights at night, thousands of feet below us. We drove as far and as fast as we could, racing against the sun to get the best view of its grand entrance. We finally found a place to pull off, and all while still dark, grabbed our coffee and breakfast, and climbed some boulders to get an even better view.


While Chris set up his camera and Katie poured the coffee, Joy and I were simply taking it all in--the crisp scent of the morning, the wind whipping in my ear, and the panoramic view of the shadowed mountains. Slowly but surely the sun began to rise. And let me tell you, there is nothing quite like it. Watching the sunrise on top of a mountain, watching the sky turn colors while casting light on the dark parts of the mountain, automatically makes for a wonderful day. 


And it's moments like these when I realize how seldom I take the time to praise my God and Creator of the universe. How incredible, how majestic is our God. We have been discussing naturalism in class as of late, and I wonder how anyone can justify the absence of an orderly and brilliant Creator. A friend reminded me of a verse a few weeks ago from Romans 1:19-20:

"For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse."

Indeed, we are without excuse. The deep, existential, unexplainable sense that envelopes us at a moment like this is proof. That there is something bigger than us. That whatever, whomever is responsible for such a masterpiece deserves to be worshipped. This is our God.