I sit here watching the sun come up from my balcony window of the hotel. I’ve watched the world turn slowly from grey to lavender and then turn colorful. I watched the sunlight hit the trees and the world becomes brilliant.
“Breaking Night” is a term some use to describe staying up all night and watching the sun come up, usually having spent the entire night in some “partying” activities. Liz Murray used the term for her book, “Breaking Night: My Journey From Homeless to Harvard,” to represent her life and her personal journey. Why? Because “Breaking Night” to her, meant a new start. It meant she had survived one more night on the streets, homeless.
Watching the sun rise is always a magical experience for me, perhaps more so than watching the sun set. When the sun sets, it always leaves with a feeling of going, going, gone, and a touch of sadness that the day is ended. But, when the sun rises, it’s like a fresh start to a new day. A feeling of rejuvenation and excitement for the day ahead.
It means hope. The sun rising always represents hope for the day ahead. For me, it’s like the feeling of having overcome the adversity of the day before, or the years before, and now you are looking forward to a new beginning. It means you have survived the storms of life or the darkness of the night. It also represents God’s sunrise for us in the new beginning and the hope we have in Christ Jesus.
It means we aren’t looking back to the darkness of the night, or the time in our life from before. It means we are looking forward into the future. The possibility of possibilities brings hope – and we have something to look forward to.
Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
Like many, resilience and leadership author Ria Story faced adversity in life. She was
sexually abused by her father from age 12 – 19. Forced to play the role of a wife and even shared with other men due to her father’s perversions, she was desperate to escape and left home at 19 without a job, car, or even a high school diploma.
Unlike many, she learned to be resilient, and turned her life around, not only surviving but thriving, in spite of the overwhelming circumstances of her youth. Click here to order Ria’s new book, Beyond Bound and Broken today!
