Joy Comes In the Morning

We are having the weirdest weather.  It's been relatively cool for a July in West Texas and I think I heard we've already accumulated more rain then we normally do in a full year.  And to top it off when I walked out this morning for my morning walk it was foggy.  I've never seen fog in July...at least not here.  It was thick and dense, the only thing missing was the chilly temperatures.  It was the kind of fog that requires you to be careful while driving because you don't know what's lurking just a few feet in front of you.  I was so foggy that towards the end of my walk I realized I was a couple blocks off from my normal route.  I had missed one of my turns a little ways back.  I'm blaming the fog for this instead of what it probably really was--a distracted mind.  I was doing what I normally do on my morning walks:  composing poems and blog posts and stories that never get written because by the time I get home their gone, lost somewhere along the way.

But this post isn't about the weather...well, it is but in a different sense.  What really caught me off guard this morning was the smell of the air.  I wish I could describe it to you.  When I was a child one of my aunts had an atrium in her house.  You'd open the front door to find an atrium between the door and the living area.  I loved the smell of the atrium and this morning I was reminded of that smell.  The smell of fresh earth.  The smell of moist dirt.  The smell of moisture hanging in the air.  I tried to fill my lungs with as much of it as possible until I thought they might burst.  I swear this must be what God's breath smells like--earthy, comforting, fresh, like a brand new beginning when everything has been washed away and you can start over.  The fog was like a blanket holding it all in and I was under that blanket enjoying it to the fullest.  In fact, if I remember correctly when I stepped out the back door and took my first whiff of the morning air I did a little twirl.  It was that wonderful.

It's the small moments like this one that remind me why I'm glad to get up every morning, why I'm glad to be alive, why I'll keep struggling because even in the struggle there are moments when it all gets lost in the fog and you're left with the fresh morning air.  It's moments like these when I breathe as deeply as possible and walk into the day knowing it's all worth it because I have smelled the breath of God and it was like a small crack in the clouds.  It's moments like these when I wouldn't have life any other way because if it was different this foggy morning may have gone unnoticed.  It's moments like these when I think, okay I can do this and I continue treading the dark water with renewed strength in my tired muscles.   

Comments

[Micky]

Three years ago I was wandering around [mental hospital] completely shattered physically, emotionally and spiritually. The mental torment I was experiencing was absolutely terrifying. Every waking second, I was having horrifying images from my past. I thought I was being punished for my past sins. My whole life flashed before my eyes and I felt I had failed miserably in my journey through life. The whole experience was an awakening [THE LONG DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL] a metamorphosis. God was slowly penetrating the shield I had put up all those desperate years. I had no "I" - that is what God wanted for me, to become Christ centered, not “I” centered [in retrospect]. There is nothing in this world, but the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He eventually delivered me from my HELL; when I got down on my knees and asked Him for mercy and forgiveness for my sins. God breathed on me. Praise the LORD!!
PEACE BE WITH YOU
MICKY

[shona]

Michelle, beautifully stated! You paint a great visual picture.

[aola]

The weather has been weird here in Oklahoma, too. I don't think we've had a day over 90 degrees and way tooooo much rain.
It doesn't smell pleasant here, though, we have nasty stagnant standing water everywhere.

Beautiful post.

[deirdre]

This is just beautiful. We had fog here in California this morning too, although my only thought was that it wouldn't be so hot as yesterday because of this natural air-conditioning. You have an amazing ability to see the miracles in each moment.

[Star]

They say smell is the sense we most associate with memories and I believe it. I love that earthy smell of damp soil, and I'm sure the warm temps where you are only made it more full.

Walking in the fog must have been stimulating; everything would seem new and different. I love how still it is, as if you could hear a pin drop--or maybe it's just that your other senses become heightened in the fog.

Misty, foggy photos--I wish you'd have had your camera :)

[colorsonmymind]

I love that smell and how you made the analogy to God's breath is amazing.

You have such a beautiful easy way with words my love-truly-what a talent-writer photographer-fabulous.

I just adore you
XOXOX