And Then Comes the Break of Dawn

Sunrise.  Just the word evokes an image of beauty.  The light changing from blackness to a dark blue ink and gradually more and more colors creeping in as the sun makes its ascent announcing the beginning of a new day, a day filled with promise.

But what if the day before this incredible sunrise you suffered a terrible tragedy or heard shocking news?  This came to mind yesterday when after hearing my dog continuing to bark outside I went to check on him.  Huge billows of smoke were coming from across the way.  A family home on fire which turned into a 2-alarm fire.  This, while 150 firefighters were battling a 9-alarm blaze in downtown Boston.  The huge winds playing a role in both events.

Fortunately for my neighbors home, the wind saved the majority of the house.  However, in Boston, the wind fueled the fire that took the lives of 2 firemen trapped in the basement of a 4-story brownstone.

Thinking of the families involved in these two events brought to mind when my parents told us kids that they were divorcing.  They sat us down, shared the news, and then out went my dad to some unknown apartment on the other side of town.  Now, I can only imagine his own heartbreak, but as I was on the verge of turning 13 it was devastating.  One day, all was mostly okay with the world, then suddenly all was tossed around without any understanding of why.

So off to bed you go, cry yourself to sleep and somehow, almost magically you dream away what remains of the night.  You start to awaken, moved by the filter of light, a sound, a cat, and all seems well. But as your senses gather it strikes with a force that all is not right.  You struggle to gain perspective as to what happened the day before, then as the weight of it all comes into full realization, you wonder how you'll make it through the day that lies ahead.

Somehow you carry on, traveling a familiar road but suddenly unfamiliar with its path.  The dawn has broken and so has your heart.

Prayers going out to the families in Massachusetts who's lives are forever changed.