Glory at Sunrise

Day 2 – Made to Matter: 13 Soulful Stories from the Studio

Some days begin with heaviness.
The kind of weight that sinks into your chest before you’ve even had your coffee.
That was the day I received news from my dad’s biopsy—news that wasn’t what we had hoped for. I remember coming home, quiet. Still. Holding that ache close to the surface.

And then I reached for the paints.

I wasn’t looking to create a masterpiece. I just needed something to hold the emotion. Something to move my hands while my heart tried to make sense of it all. I pulled out a thick 4x4 canvas, acrylic paints, my new brushes, and texture medium—and for the first time in a long time, I painted with nothing but my fingers.

The sun was my subject. A sunrise, just breaking through the edge of a stormy sky.
The kind of sky you only get after the weather has passed—when the light finds a way to return, even if only just barely.
That became the theme.
Light... okay.

I titled it Glory at Sunrise. Not because the moment felt glorious—but because I knew deep down that it would be. Eventually.

The inspiration came from a quote that stirred something in me:

“What I know for sure is that every sunrise is like a new page, a chance to right ourselves and receive each day in all its glory. Each day is a wonder.”

And that’s what I held onto.
Yesterday had already passed.
Tomorrow hadn’t yet arrived.
But this day—this sunrise—was mine. And even in the unknown, it carried light.

That line became my anchor.
Because yesterday—I can’t change.
And tomorrow? It isn’t promised.
But today… today I can choose to see the glory.
I can choose to trust that we are held. That our Creator has my family in His care. That no matter the outcome, light is still showing up.
One day at a time.

Painting this didn’t fix anything. But it softened something inside me.
It gave form to the swirl of grief, hope, fear, and faith.
And it reminded me: even when we feel helpless, we can still create beauty.
Even if it’s just with our fingertips and a bit of color.

The emergence of the sun just under the heavy clouds reminded me:
Our Creator hasn’t left us. We are not alone in the storm.
Even when the outcome is uncertain, the presence is sure.

“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”
— Leonard Cohen

I added that sun with a whisper of hope.
That even through grief and fear, there is beauty.
That light still finds a way in.

A Thought to Carry:

Where does the light show up in your life—especially after the storm?
What can you let yourself feel and create today, simply because you’re alive to see the sunrise?