Thunder and Lightning

Thunder and lightning startled me awake at 3 AM this morning. This is not uncommon, in fact, this has happened a couple of times since moving here to Texas. The first of these times, I jumped out of my bed and ran to the window to watch, but this morning I just listened and attempted to fall back asleep. The thunder echoes in the court yard that separates my dorm from the dorm across the way. Then rain begins to pound against my windows- but unlike thunder and lightning, this is nothing new to me. The rain comforts me by reminding me of home, and I fall quickly back into sleep. Several hours later, I wake up to get ready for church, and look outside to see what the weather is doing now. Clear blue skies, a beautiful sunrise, and almost dry pavements greet my tired eyes. This causes a happy sigh in my heart and I begin to get ready for church. But I can sense that the Lord has something to say about what my eyes are seeing; and I hear this, "New mercies are a little bit like Texas." I can feel my heart softening at these words. Sometimes there is pain and hard things that happen at night. I find myself too often laying awake, being fearful and upset about things that happened during the day. But Jesus offers new mercies when I awake, and I have the choice to be glad and receive them. And isn't it true that the sunshine is much more beautiful to eyes that have seen the darkness of the night?