I was on a morning "prayer-walk" at Cannon Beach, Oregon. The dawn was terrible; grey, dull and uninteresting. A mother and three children played past me on the sand. I leaned on my tripod and watched them go. Happy, they were. Testing their jumping skills against the waves. The kids daring the surf and racing back to Mother for protection and affirmation.
They improved my picture for a few moments, and then moved off toward the town. I watched, my tripod quivering in the wave-washed sand. I talked with God about my own family, remembered side-splitting games on the beach with my brother Jack, and wished for God to guide me to the joy in my life.
He must have heard, for the sun poked through the slate sky and turned the grey to gold. For just a moment. As a promise.