Who or what can you count on?  Who is there for you every single day?  Who do you know that always has your back?  What can you depend on no matter what?  Even in the darkest, worst times of your life?  Those questions came to mind when I recently read this poem by Celia Thaxter, “That Sunrise Never Failed Us Yet.”

Upon the sadness of the sea
The sunset broods regretfully;
From the far lonely spaces, slow
Withdraws the wistful afterglow.

So out of life the splendor dies;
So darken all the happy skies;
So gathers twilight, cold and stern;
But overhead the planets burn;

And up the east another day
Shall chase the bitter dark away;
What though our eyes with tears be wet?
The sunrise never failed us yet.

The blush of dawn may yet restore
Our light and hope and joy once more.
Sad soul, take comfort, nor forget
That sunrise never failed us yet!

We have so many joys and blessings in our lives but there are also burdens and sorrows.  We do things we shouldn’t do and pay the consequences.  Death comes to loved ones.  Natural disasters destroy homes and lives.  Sinful people rip apart what we try so hard to build.

Sometimes we feel like giving up.  We may feel everyone has deserted us, that we have no friends.  Our lives may be so black that we think we will never see light or color again.

But the sunrise always comes.  God is always there for us, sustaining, supporting, encouraging.  He carries us and holds us in the palm of his hand.  And sometimes – when we need it – he tells us to get up and walk.

Often our lives are full of light.  We are joyous.  Sometimes our lives are dark and difficult.  And in those troubled times, we need to remember that today and tomorrow, God is there for us.  Just as, today and tomorrow, the sunrise comes.