Morning Watch... great start to the day

It has been a few years since I have attended a morning watch in person.  The last one I attended was a camp reunion at Riverview in 2012. (Sadly, I missed this last November's reunion.) During the weekend reunion we had morning watch, a time of morning devotion, led by Ellen Roberts. 

Ellen Roberts leading morning watch at the reunion

Morning Watch area at Riverview Camp for Girls, Mentone, AL

What a treat that was.  Whether we were former campers, counselors, both, director, or other staff, morning watch with Ellen was a an integral part of camp life.  Every morning before breakfast, you could go to Morning Watch and get a word of encouragement, some daily bread.  I really never knew how meaningful and important those times were for me growing up.  I didn't realize that by setting aside a few moments in the morning to center myself and focus for the day, I was being prepared for the day. 

Honestly, I was just trying to get ready as fast as I could in the mornings, get out of the cabin and into the woods.  That's where morning watch was.  In the woods.  Benches (or old logs) set up in semi-circle fashion.  Nothing fancy.  But a space set apart. 

this sign wasn't there back in my day

Morning Watch at Camp Skyline (2012)

Space and time set apart to start the day.

That is something I learned early on in my life as a camper at camp and it has been a tremendous blessing to me.  I haven't always used mornings to carve out space and time for that reflection, but it is something I have come back to over the years.  I do find that my morning time allows me to center myself and prepare for the day.

Yesterday as I was on the patio reading through some different blogs, listening to the waterfall and the birds, I came across Ellen Robert's post.  It wasn't until later that I realized I had sat through Morning Watch with Ellen.  What I knew at the time is that those words touched me, much like many of the words she shared day after day, year after year during those morning watch times at camp.  This is a gifted woman of God who cares deeply for God and others and that investment has had a tremendous ripple effect.

Here is what Ellen wrote on July 7 at 2:02pm:

"Moments Like These. I don’t remember anything about the devotional message itself, but the title captivated me. I’m sure there are all kinds of moments that stand out in your mind…the most frightening or exciting or happiest or most rewarding. But what comes to my mind are the moments that have been the most meaningful, the most God-aware, the most peaceful…moments that connected me with people and God and that often taught me profound truths.

I remember walking on the beach in Panama City and realizing for the first time that there was no need to fear death, that heaven was assured. It was something I had known intellectually, but in that moment I felt the magnitude of that truth to my core. Blessed assurance….

I remember sitting atop a large rock on the ski slope overlooking camp, the cabins and children and activities in a distance, their sounds muffled so that I heard only the occasional sound of a door slamming shut or the bell ringing. I was absorbed instead by the fading of daylight and the illumination of the sky with stars. I remember taking in the beauty and peacefulness of that moment and the closeness of God and thinking that, if only I could come there every day, I could always keep things in perspective. Sometimes I still try to go there in my mind when the stresses of the day wear on me.

I remember what it’s like for 200 people to sit quietly on the river’s edge after dark, lit candles floating in the river and the voices of familiar songs slowing approaching. Those moments were filled with togetherness and meaning and holiness.

I remember times of deep sharing and prayer and the fellowship that comes with loving and trusting and appreciating those that God brings into one’s life. They are fireside moments and summer retreats and other shared moments in which God knit hearts and helped us grow.
I remember moments when God spoke…not the vague “I think this is what God is telling me” messages, but the rare times of certainty as His message, while not audible, was nonetheless loud and clear.

There are so many more. I know you have your own, and there may be some we have shared. It helps me to think back on moments like these, as they are reminders of the goodness and sacredness of life and, most assuredly, of the presence and faithfulness of God."

As I finished reading Ellen's writing, I looked up at the morning sky.  I noticed the clouds above me looked like they were in the formation of God's hand.  That's what they looked like to me.  I adore clouds anyway and enjoy shapes.  I have seen a hand in clouds a time or two before. 

I snapped a picture of the clouds and wrote my own thoughts for the morning:

"As I look up from my coffee and reading, I see these clouds. As I have just read Ellen Roberts' reflection on God, these clouds strike me as being formed as the hand of God above me. It may not look like a hand to anyone else, but as I continue to watch it, I see it. God's hand is over me. Blessed assurance." (July 8, 7:04am)

As I continue to grow in my faith journey, as life continues to press in around me, I know the importance of making space and time for pauses, for reflection.  These are the moments that allow us to redirect, refill, refresh, refocus.  We may need them more often than once a day in the morning.  There are days that I need pause moments much more frequently to hear the One Voice over the clanging of the many others in life. 

But, oh, a day like yesterday, just brought it all together for me in many ways.  Not only did I get a wonderful blessing from Ellen Roberts, a Morning Watch via Facebook (which she does quite often in her writings still), but I also got a visual reminder that God is Creator, God is present.

In addition, I was reminded that those things that we do early in our lives take deep root.  Even when we are unaware what is truly going on at the time, those things sink in to the depths of our being.  I am grateful for those camp days and Morning Watch.  

We also had evening campfire times with songs and we had church time on Sundays, but this blog post is about Morning Watch.  Overall, camp time played a big part of my spiritual foundation and formation.   Who would have ever thought that the kid who was in Brookwood cabin that first summer at Camp Skyline (in 197?), who put their clothes on the end of the bed and got dressed quietly before everyone else got up, and then made up the bed, did chores, and headed off to Morning Watch would one day become a pastor?!?!  Not me.

Our lives are a marvelous journey.  I am grateful for Ellen Roberts for having planted so many seeds of life along the way in mine and that she continues to offer Morning Watch to us.

Blessings on your journey,

Debra