The First is Better

Have you ever noticed that the first of everything is better? The first few moments after you awaken in the morning, your first sip of coffee, the first crocus of springtime, the first rose of summer, the first frosty morning in autumn, the first snowfall, your first kiss.

Remember how you felt the first time you looked upon the face of your newborn baby and the first time you heard him/her cry – his first words, his first steps, and his first day of school.

Perhaps that’s why children are always happy and full of energy and excitement: Their lives are a series of new and “first” experiences; they are always feeling the joy of discovery. Most of us were children when we took our first ride on a roller coaster. What an unforgettable thrill that was!

The list is endless. How about the first time you saw the ocean? A young writer I know was so taken with its magnificence that she penned this vivid description of a sunrise and sunset: “Very early in the morning, the sun rises right up out of the water and is such a bright yellow that it hurts your eyes to look at it; in the evening – just like magic – it disappears back into the water again. It is soon replaced by a luminous moon whose bright light shimmers across the water leaving me just as awed by its incredible beauty as did the sunrise." Then she said, “I wonder how God does that.” 

First thing each morning, I like to take a few moments of rest from all activities – and become still.  I do not talk or think about what I should be doing. The less I focus on myself and my surroundings, the more at peace I am. Maintaining awareness of the present moment, I refuse to give in to distractions. This is my time alone with God. I talk to Him.  Sometimes I hear the still small voice and know that He is talking to me. The peace I experience in the quiet of these few moments brings respite and renewal and I am ready to go on with my day.

You can put your own desires first or you can put God “first." But when you put Him first in everything you do, your life changes drastically for the better!

I wonder... How does God do that?