A commute filled with lights and tears.

Riding in the early morning can be unpredictable. I calmly set off to work this morning and once I had left the streetlights of my small town behind me I looked up toward the sky. It was pure black and studded with brilliant stars, not a cloud in sight. I breathed in the cool autumn air, content and at peace, moving my feet to pedal at a gentle cadence.  I craned my neck to take in as much of the night sky as I could without falling off my bike.

My gaze fell on the northern sky and an indescribable awe came over me. Ever since I was a little girl I have yearned to see the Northern Lights and now, for the first time in my life I saw them lighting up the dark night. It was such an unexpected, such a joyful thing that tears spontaneously rolled down my cheeks. They weren’t even the brilliant colors that I know they sometimes appear in, this morning I only saw silver grays dance across the sky. That didn’t detract anything from my surprise and wonder at spotting these lights during my routine commute. Cars quickly passed me and I wanted to scream at them,

“Slow down! Don’t you see the dancing lights!?!?”

But it wasn’t long before I was torn away from the display in the sky, by a nasty villain known as fog. Usually I enjoy being sucked into the vortex of the fog as it rises up out of the river, but not today. I pedaled furiously to insure a quick escape but the fog extended further along the road than it normally does. By the time I could once again see the sky, the Northern Lights were gone.

The sky was still stunningly beautiful and I was cheered up even more when I saw Venus come toward me, golden and bright from the eastern sky.

The rest of my commute was filled with quiet contemplation. The beauty of the Northern Lights and the sky made my heart leap with joy. It made me wonder, if the sky is this glorious, what will it be like to see the creator of it all someday? There is glory, so much overwhelming glory in the night sky but I believe it is just a faint whisper of the majesty of God.

And so I arrived at work, a tearful mess, but replenished spiritually, emotionally and physically. I wish I could see the Northern Lights every morning.