The First Day

God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. ~ Genesis 1:5

The first day.

How many memorable first days do we go through in our lives?

Today is the first day of the rest of our lives. I’ve seen that phrase on signs and bumper stickers my whole life, but I never really understood the meaning behind that saying until I got a little older.

I have some friends who are waking up this morning to the first day after losing their home in the Texas wildfires.

Last weekend, I woke up to the first day after losing my sweet old dog.

A fellow blogger wrote a heartbreaking post yesterday about her friend who died tragically after an emergency c-section. That husband and father is waking up to the first day after his wife suddenly died, and to their baby in intensive care.

I remember a dear friend’s words the first day after her fiancée left for Iraq – “Trying to remember how to breathe again.”

The first day is when our minds are processing the circumstances and our hearts become anxious for relief – for an answer.

First days are also celebrated and remembered for the sheer joy of them: the first day my friend’s fiancée returned home from Iraq, the first day of marriage, the first day after a raise, the first day in your new home, the first day after a positive pregnancy test result, the first day of being a mother…

But it’s those difficult “first days” that we need the most help getting through.

In the world of infertility, we go through a lot of those first days. That first day of the two week wait seems ages away from the answer that we dare not let ourselves get our hopes up for. The first day after being diagnosed with infertility leaves you dealing with a new void and emptiness that has suddenly engulfed your dreams and will occupy your thoughts from that day forward. The first day after a miscarriage, when the thought of starting the process all over again feels so lonely and so hopeless.

If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God.  ~ Isaiah 50:10

God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. ~ Genesis 1:5

There was evening – and there was morning. There was darkness – and there was light. There was uncertainty – and there was hope. There was pain – and there was healing. There was death – and there was life.

Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. ~ Psalm 30:5

I know that depending on the circumstances you are facing, “joy” may not be the word of choice to describe the emotions you are feeling, but every single day you wake up, you will heal. Trust in God, have faith in the strength given to you, and with each coming morning, you will heal. You will wake up, you will breathe, and you will heal.

…And you will smile, and you will love, and you will live.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.~ Ephesians 5:8

There is a light in each of us. No matter how dim it may seem, it exists. There is always hope. There is always “after.”

There is always God.

Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning. ~ Ecclesiastes 11:7

I’m praying for so many of you today. As you read this, I pray for your new day dawning and for the sweetness of your light.