Thoughts form in my brain and long to flow onto the pristine page of this new day. I stumble about in the semi darkness of my home, feeling my way to the kitchen and my morning companion in a cup.

Wandering upstairs and down, steaming brew in hand, I search for a cozy spot. Settling into my favorite front porch chair and chuckling silently at the futility of looking at all, a contented sigh escapes my lips. Slumbering senses slowly awaken as night gives way to morning.

Dawn, that beautiful, fleeting moment between yesterday and tomorrow, beckons me to ponder the possibilities. Silently the sun in all her splendor washes over the horizon.

I allow my thoughts to take shape and flow onto my paper. Sometimes my pen must hurry to catch every word. Many thoughts are discarded as unworthy of taking up space in my head or elsewhere, but some are beautiful, and I keep them. I tuck them away in my treasure chest of scribbling to be found another day when I may need a lovely thought.

My mornings have always been precious. When the children were small these quiet moments were relished before the patter of little feet broke my silent revelry. With that sound I was off and running to keep up with the demands of my busy little family. Precious days. Precious memories.

Dew resting upon the webs spun in the night greets my inquiring eyes as this moment fills me with delight. Today waits patiently, pristine and beautiful, unmarred by mistakes or thoughtless words of yesterday. As the quiet forest is lovely in it’s stillness, so is this twinkling in time.

Silently I commune with my Heavenly Father and ask for wisdom. Thumbing through my Bible, as is my custom on such mornings, my eyes rest upon the book of Job. Job’s story is one of perseverance. He had some serious problems, and he made some mistakes. At times his life looked like a total train wreck, but Job never gave up.

He kept looking for daybreak. No matter how dark the night, his eyes were constantly scanning the horizon. He was waiting, watching for the faintest glimmer, any little glint that fueled the hope he held so desperately in his heart. Job held onto hope that his situation would change for the better. He held onto hope that God would hear and answer his prayers. And Job was rewarded for his persistence and faith.

I just love a happy ending, and this story of a man called Job whose life changed from one of tremendous blessings to one filled with tremendous hardships and sorrow ends like this.

The Lord blessed Job at the end of his life more than at the beginning. Job 42:12 KJV

Breath slowly enters and leaves my body, each one infusing me with peace, courage and strength for my own journey, my own story. My heart aches with the beauty of it and reaches out to kiss the promise of today.

Jan Penton Miller can be reached at lilsisjan@yahoo.com.