Hop out of Bed!

The eyes of my seven-year-old nephew sparkle! He’s the kid people look at and then smile because they just can’t help themselves. Michael simply sparkles! One summer when he was visiting us, the older kids were learning how to shoot a gun with Uncle Ian, but Michael was napping and missed out on the activity. He missed the gun safety lesson, the gun shooting, and all the fun that went with it – all under the supervision of their Uncle Ian, of course. When he woke up he was quite upset, but we told him that Uncle Ian would still take him to shoot a gun before he went back home.

That next morning, I went upstairs to wake them, and as soon as Michael heard me and without opening his eyes, he said, “Uncle Ian said I could shoot the gun!” Then Michael shot up (no pun intended) out of that bed and was dressed before I could make it downstairs. 

Michael was beyond excited. He thought he had missed an opportunity, yet he woke up hoping that he still was going to get to do it.  And he couldn’t wait!

I’ve thought about that moment many times. And the reality is that’s how life with God can be. Every day there is something to look forward to even if we think we’ve missed out on something huge the day before. God provides new opportunities that are more than our old disappointments. And that’s reason enough to hop out of bed and look forward to beginning a new day!  
 
In Isaiah 43:16, God reminds his people that he once saved them by parting a sea; now he tells them to forget about that because He’s going to do something even greater for them, also saving them – his people in Babylonian captivity -- by providing water and streams in abundance in the desert as they make their way home. 

And just as Jesus will bring us home one day, we, God’s people, can still watch him – each day – do “something brand-new,” and not be disappointed. “Forget about what's happened; don't keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new. It's bursting out! Don't you see it? There it is!”  (Isaiah 43:16 The Message). And it’s in abundance!

And that’s enough to make me hop out of bed this morning! That’s enough to give me hope today. That’s enough to make all our eyes sparkle!