New Every Morning

New every morning is the love

Our wakening and uprising prove;

Through sleep and darkness safely brought,

Restored to life, and power, and thought.

Every morning I look out of the window, first thing. I see trees and birds. Off in the distance I see the flickering of headlights as people make their way around the beginning of a new day. And the sound I hear, rolling from somewhere deep inside, the first notes of the hymn, “New Every Morning.”

I just can’t wrap my head around the idea that some people are pessimists, and proudly so. Their world-view makes no sense to me. Don’t they see the pulse of God’s love in… in everything?

And if you dare to challenge a pessimist they will inevitably strike back with some false claim that they are really just a “realist.” No, I say, no! A realist sees the love of God in the restoration to life of every blessed thing, every blessed day. And it is a glory to behold.

Before you think that I’m some sort of holier-than-thou, optimistic freak, you must know that I wrestle with the same thoughts of inadequacy, doubt and fear that we all suffer from. I have been conditioned, like most of us, to be pessimistic. But, no matter how faint the notes of the hymn, “New Every Morning” are when I look out my window, I look and I wait until, like a full orchestra and choir, the hymn shakes the foundation and rattles the windows. Then I can start my day, joy-filled and confident that in my sleeping and in my rising God, my creator, has brought me safely.

I look to any measurement for this assurance—a spin on the Earth’s axis—the phases of the moon—the earth wobbling and the northern part bowing back towards the sun. You name it, and it’s reason enough for me to hear the hymn, “New Every Morning.” And might I say, every hour, every minute, every second… That’s the depth and majesty of God’s love.