Not-So-Secret Secret

Don’t look!  If you do, you’ll learn all of life’s best-kept secrets.  I’m referring to the tabloids and magazines at the checkout counter -- how to be thin, how to avoid hair loss, how to be a smart shopper.  All those secrets on display for everyone to see – so much for secrets!

Jesus, God in-the-flesh, did something worth imitating:  " ... in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." (Mark 1:35)  Now there’s a not-so-secret secret – instead of shoving off with a cup of coffee or a hearty-man breakfast, begin the day with spiritual nourishment for the soul.  After all, Jesus thought it important!

I met God in the morning when my day was at its best,

And his presence came like sunrise like a glory in my breast.

All day long the Presence lingered, all day long he stayed with me,

And we sailed in perfect calmness o'er a very troubled sea.

Other ships were blown and battered, other ships were sore distressed,

But the winds that seemed to drive them brought to us a peace and rest.

Then I thought of other mornings with a keen remorse of mind,

When I too had loosed the moorings, with the Presence left behind.

So I think I know the secret, learned from any a troubled way:

You must seek him in the morning if you want him through the day.  – Ralph S. Cushman