A car muffler (or the lack of one) woke me. It had to be close to morning, so I used the opportunity to pray. As loved ones drifted through my mind, I lifted up needs and blessings, heavy burdens and mixed bags. I became aware of the night sounds’ syncopated beats. For a while, my husband blissfully rested with short puffs of air in and out, in and out, which soon matched the dog’s grunting breaths. A car passing with its rap bass cranked loud added to the mix. The 2/4 rhythms seemed to advance one after another. As the snoring settled, the coffee pot picked up the beat and percolated, permeating the air with the wake up call for morning.  My prayers seemed to align with the rest of the orchestra, then a quiet fell for minutes or hours–I’m not sure which.  The music of the night is not unlike the bigger symphony of life. The journey of however many heartbeats we’ve been given brings the next season whether it’s hard upward hiking or coasting down gentle hills. We must go through this life tied to time in whatever measure it beats. Interestingly, God is just as free from as we are tied to the constraints of time. He gloriously inhabits the eternal moment of the present. He is the Great I Am, dwelling in our yesterdays as much as our tomorrows.  As the beautiful band of life marches on, may we not miss the Eternal in each moment and the moments that compose the great Eternal.

Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine

I’ll taste your strawberries; I’ll drink your sweet wine.

A million tomorrows shall all pass away

E’er I forget all the Joy that is mine today. (Randy Sparks)