cooling down my feet
I woke up at 4:30 in the morning and knew something was wrong. The temperature never dropped in the middle of the night. And, I can’t stand it. So I came downstairs. Finally, I stepped outside and stood in the grass. Let the morning dew cool off my feet.
I grew up in the deep south. And, I feel like I’m living there again. Except, there is a difference. Southern folks know how to handle the heat.
It;s called air conditioning.
Imagine paradise- squished and squeezed into a metal box and mounted on your window frame. Customized cool breeze flowing at the touch of a dial.
Right now, I’m West coast Sweatville and I’m not sure I’ll ever find my way home.
It reminds me of a night I volunteered to stay with an elderly woman in the middle of a heat wave. This happened decades ago. But, I’ll never forget
- the stillness
- the damp sheets
- tossing and turning and staring for hours at the moon.
I could hear the old woman snoring on the other side of the wall. She slept better knowing she was not alone. But, the heat was melting my compassion away. I just wanted to go home.
Maybe I dozed off. Maybe I just faded away with heat exhaustion for just a little while. When I opened my eyes, I saw the eerie shades of night transformed by the first light of dawn. Birds sang. A slow breeze skittered across my skin.
Surprised? Relieved? You bet.
Good thing I’m not in charge of the passage of time. I would have given up. Wasted away in my sweaty state. I’m human. My faith is weak. I get tired. My hope wears thin.
Every time the darkness makes itself at home, I am astounded when the dawn seeps in. Bit by bit the morning light spreads across the sky. Sometimes it grows to a brilliant sunrise. Sometimes it lightens behind the clouds.
sunrise outside my back door
Fact: God created morning to come after the night. Whether we are longing for it’s rays or not, morning will eventually come.
