open the blinds.

The days are getting shorter, but I still wake up around the same time. Which means when I wake up now, it’s still dark out, and it takes a little longer for the sun to rise every day.

Normally, I like to open my blinds when I wake up because my room faces east, and I love the sunrise. But it kind of creeps me out to open my blinds when it’s still dark out, and it’s been darker for longer – so in the last few weeks, I’ve been keeping them shut until the sun is up and I’m on with my day.

But a couple days ago, I opened my blinds right when I woke up. Maybe out of habit. Maybe I forgot for a minute how weird it feels to be the only glowing window on a dark street.

Either way, I watched the sky grow from dark to light that morning as I sipped my coffee, and my jaw dropped as I saw how brilliant the sky looked. Somehow I forgot about it – the gold and pink that stretch across the sky in new patterns every day just before the sun comes up over the horizon.

Has the sky looked like this every day, and I just haven’t seen it?

The thought popped into my mind, but I know the answer is yes. I’ve watched the sunrise too many times to think otherwise. I just forgot for a little while. I kept the blinds closed, so I stopped looking – I stopped seeing it.

I think that happens with God more than I even realize. He is constantly moving on my behalf, setting me up for joy and abundance, bringing me comfort and peace, painting a new sunrise for me every day – but I miss it. I get distracted by my preferences and my routine. I keep the blinds closed, and I stop seeing, and then I wonder where He even is and why nothing seems to be happening.

So now I’m back to opening my blinds every morning, even when it’s still dark and it feels a little uncomfortable at first. I’m obsessed with how radiant the sky looks, but it’s also a reminder that when life feels a little dark or uncomfortable, I just have to wait a little longer. There is glory on the horizon.

There is always glory on the horizon.

We just have to open the blinds to see it.

The power of God is in you, even on a Thursday.