Morning Serenity

The past two weeks have involved me, a bike, and early mornings. The weather around here has been simply phenomenal in the mornings. As I ride down the country roads, dew diamonds glinting in the morning rays, I drink in the mornings sounds and smells. Nothing like a farm fresh morning with the smell of fresh earth and hay bales stacked in the barn, fresh from the first cutting. An occasional wild turkey gobbles as he runs on awkward legs through the tall grass, and I see the rise and fall of the blacktop beneath my pedals and singing tires. Miles roll by, still it seems like just a quick trip before I find myself turning down the long dirt road that leads home.

These rides center me. Bring clarity. Peace. Serenity. Me and God…no texting, no Internet, no distractions other than my busy mind. But I am working on that. Like the old song Eric used to sing all the time, “You’re calling me to lay aside the worries of my day, to quiet down my busy mind and find a hiding place…” And that’s the morning for me… in the moments before life begins to find that place with me and the Lord to center myself in Him. I pray the sign of the cross over myself: Lord, be in my head, my heart, on my left hand and on my right.