Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I love having a front-row seat to watch the Master wake up the world and I love to hear the earth Rejoice a new day. The greatest experience on the planet for me is to be able to sit in the dark…just me and my God…as He unveils a new day. His Creation can be heard when it comes to life long before it can be seen, and when it becomes visible it’s as if God says, “Look at the work of my Hand!” The sun rises all over the world each morning but few people ever see it. Some won’t surrender a little extra time for sleep, and some hit the ground running without pausing to watch the Glory of God at work in nature. This morning I wondered how many people perch and wait on God with anticipation for the sun to rise, and how many people give Glory to the One who placed it in the sky like I do.

Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees, and sometimes people (or things) become so familiar to us that life loses its excitement if we let it. Familiarity can cause us to stop looking for the good and to stop being thankful for those routine things that happen in life – like the sun rising in the morning sky or even a whispered “I love you.” It’s not until the light dims, or when the “I love you’s” are no more, that most people realize the precious gift of all of those routine things that have been there all along. For most people, it’s not until the last breaths of life are being drawn that all of those precious routine things take on new meaning, and the regrets over not taking time to appreciate them are made clear. I imagine that when I’m drawing my last breath I’ll have a few regrets too, but savoring life and savoring love won’t be on the list. I embrace Life like a child on a Christmas morning and I NEVER take love for granted.

Plenty of people have commented on my “approach to life” and plenty have assumed that I’ve had a “close call” with death that gave me the eyes and the Attitude I have. I’ve had a “Close Call” alright, but not the kind they think it would take to Inspire me to embrace Life the way I do. My “Close Call” had consequences well beyond this life, and my “Close Call” is now the Reason I breathe. My “Close Call” opened my eyes and my Heart, and my “Close Call” Inspires me to have an appreciation for all that I have…the kind of appreciation that begins in the Soul and flows through my eyes, my mind, and my Heart…the kind of appreciation that is contagious.

Love and gratitude consume me because of my “Close Call” and I’m Reminded that every routine thing in my life is a Gift that I refuse to take for granted. My “Close Call” came Directly from Heaven. My “Close Call” came when my eyes were no longer focused on myself – they Focused on the King of kings and the Lord of Lords instead. Nothing has ever looked the same since my “Close Call” came along and THAT’S the reason I look at Life the way I do today…with excitement like a child on a Christmas morning and with Joy and Gratitude overflowing…facing each new day with anticipation for what HE has in store for me and how I can best Serve Him aka my “Close Call.”

I’ll be savoring this new day from sun up to sundown and I’ll be determined to Look at everything and everyone around me as if it’s the first time. The world is in shambles and the War is raging, but as long as I abide in my “Close Call” there’s nothing that can rob me of my Joy or dim the Light of my Future. I’m equipped because of my “close call” and I’m walking in the Light for Him.

How about you?