Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. Isaiah 60:1

It was the first night of our Alaskan cruise. I was so excited to be on board, and to know that I would wake up to the scenery of sailing through the inside passage. I was ready for bed that evening and looked forward to the sway of the ship gently rocking me into a deep slumber. At 10 p.m., I drew the room-darkening curtains at the balcony door (if you’ve ever traveled to Alaska in the summer, then you know it never truly gets dark), and drifted off to sleep.

At 3 a.m., I woke up, looked around the cabin, realized where I was, pulled the covers up and tried to get comfortable. But, the Lord had other plans: “Get up and go outside.”

No way (I said to myself). I couldn’t have heard that correctly. It’s 3 a.m. Nothing is outside for me to see, especially in the wee hours of the morning. I turned over and snuggled next to my husband. Alas, the nudging continued: “Get up.”

Reluctantly, I crawled out of bed, pulled the curtains back and stepped out on the balcony. And, that’s when I saw the most breathtaking sunrise I’d ever beheld! I’ve never remembered feeling such a rush of peace and love. I even woke up my husband, who also was in complete awe. It was like we were in the middle of the sunrise—a part of it!

After standing out on the balcony for several minutes just taking in the splendor, and snapping a few photos, we decided to go back to bed. Before laying down, I thanked God for waking me up, and showing me just how much he loves me. Though the photo is beautiful, it doesn’t capture the immense gratitude and peace that filled me that morning. So I wrote a few words before dozing off:

He gently whispers to me in early morn—“Awaken.”

I ask, “Why my Lord, why?”

He says, “Look my child, see—I’ve painted you a sky.”