Morning: That Time of Day

By Shirley A. McGarrell

O Glorious morning! What a wonderful day!
Mornings are always full of expectation and hope for the days they bring forth. Each day, they shed a new light on life. The dew in the morning before the sunrise, is a soft touch that starts the day, which could be full of activity, or a day of slumber and relaxation. The beauty of morning is that it can never be the same for each day. It will always be new. It will always be different. And it will always be a gift.
In the Maracas Valley of St. Joseph, Trinidad, where the author and her beloved husband, Roy, have resided for the past twenty-plus years, the morning mist veils the sun, and allows for a gentle movement into each new day. Mornings are about rebirth.
This book about mornings presents a unique opportunity to look at the start of a variety of new beginnings, each with its own portent. The author moves the reader along on the journey of each special day. She receives what is presented, and works with it, never leaving hope behind. I can personally testify to this. She gave me hope and raised me up at a time when I had to dig deep to find it. She demonstrates how life has value for her in spite of what is thrown her way. She accepts her slice, and moves on like a flowing river.
This book has a message for persons in all walks of life, and of all ages. Its messages are profound without being weighty. In essence, they are fresh, like the early morning breeze in the Maracas Valley of St. Joseph. It is her hope that readers will be blessed by bringing a fresh-breeze-perception to every morning.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Jun 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481797634

Shirley A. McGarrell

Shirley Ann McGarrell, Ph.D. has served as a teacher, professor, and Administrator for over twenty-five (25) years. She has written several articles for church-related and professional journals, and has spoken at many conferences and seminars locally and internationally. She is the author of several books including “Mouthfuls of Joy for Today,” “Rivulets of Patience for Today,” “Capsules of Time for Today”—daily devotional booklets, and ‘The Debate on the Teaching of Literature: A Caribbean Viewpoint,” “Awesome God—Little Miss Dolly,” and “Living With a Man Named Roy: A Legacy of love.” Dr. McGarrell enjoys teaching and learning, but she especially enjoys encouraging others to deal with the challenges that come when life takes on a minor strain. She loves people generally, but loves God, supremely. It is her hope that this work will help readers deal with the variables of “morning”—that naturally awesome time of each day.

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© 2013 by Shirley A. McGarrell. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/17/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-9762-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-9761-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-9763-4 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Majestic Dawn

Introduction

The Polarities Of Morning

Where I Lived On A Holiday Morning

Morning After Arriving In A New Neighborhood

First Morning At A New School

Morning Of The First Day On A New Job

First Morning After Marriage

Morning After The Birth Of One’s First Child

Morning After Receiving News Of Success At An Important Examination

First Morning After Being Appointed In A Leadership Position

First Morning After Saying Goodbye To A Valued Professional

Morning After Experiencing A Deadly Winter Snowfall In A Strange Land, For The First Time

Morning Upon Awakening With A Feeling Of Fear

Monday Morning Blues

Morning When The Heart Naturally Feels Like Singing

Morning After An Attempted Military Coup

Morning After The Diagnosis And Revelation Of Cancer

Morning After The Passing Of A Loved One

Morning Of One’s Baptism

Morning Of The First Day After Retirement

Recurring Dawn

First Morning After Receiving A Great Miracle From God

First Morning After Telling The Lord That He Has Abandoned You And Feeling Sorry For Doing So

Rainy Morning

First Morning Inan Empty Nest

Morning After Experiencing Deep Sorrow

Morning Of The Seventh Day—Sabbath

Morning After Succombing To A Great Temptation To Commit Sin

Morning Of Inertia

Christmas Morning

Resurrection Morning

Resurrection Morn

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FOREWORD

O Glorious morning! What a wonderful day!

Mornings are always full of expectation and hope for the days they bring forth. Each day, they shed a new light on life. The dew in the morning before the sunrise, is a soft touch that starts the day, which could be full of activity, or a day of slumber and relaxation. The beauty of morning is that it can never be the same for each day. It will always be new. It will always be different. And it will always be a gift.

In the Maracas Valley of St. Joseph, Trinidad, where the author and her beloved husband, Roy, have resided for the past twenty-plus years, the morning mist veils the sun, and allows for a gentle movement into each new day. Mornings are about rebirth.

This book about mornings presents a unique opportunity to look at the start of a variety of new beginnings, each with its own portent. The author moves the reader along on the journey of each special day. She receives what is presented, and works with it, never leaving hope behind. I can personally testify to this. She gave me hope and raised me up at a time when I had to dig deep to find it. She demonstrates how life has value for her in spite of what is thrown her way. She accepts her slice, and moves on like a flowing river.

This book has a message for persons in all walks of life, and of all ages. Its messages are profound without being weighty. In essence, they are fresh, like the early morning breeze in the Maracas Valley of St. Joseph. It is her hope that readers will be blessed by bringing a fresh-breeze-perception to every morning.

Judith Morrain-Webb

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PREFACE

The night was dark and frightening. The news was not good. It seemed as if life had lost all its lustre, and meaning and purposefulness had taken flight. No good day could ever dawn for the heart that felt lost in a whirl of hopelessness. Shortly, however, another night was star-lit and brightened by the beams of a full moon in bloom, and that same person could not wait for the morning to dawn, to share the good news and euphoric feeling with others.

In another scenario, the night before informed the mind that the following day was going to be filled with important decisions, frightening challenges, critical programs, serious appointments, and unwelcome travel, and the mere thought of morning, cast a pallor of gloom at the thought of a new dawn. One would wish that the morning will never dawn. Conversely, however, another morning will break forth with no specific reason for music, dance, or song, but the mood of the mind says: Oh, glorious morn, with what grandeur and splendour this beautiful day has dawned! Different mornings would break forth in the lives of all who live on planet earth during the course of their lives.

Readers may sometimes question: Why is there need to write another book to add to the billions of those already in circulation around the world? According to Ecclesiastes 12:12, Of writing many books, there is no end. The answer to that question lies in the fact that life is made up of an abstract entity called "time, and time" is made of up of days, and each day begins with a morning. Knowing, therefore, how to deal with the different moods and emotions that morning conjures can help to make the lives of many, more meaningful, joyful, and hopeful.

"Morning: That Time of Day" is organized by themes. The initial idea evolved from experiences drawn from the author’s own life’s journey, and this embryo of thought was developed as similar experiences were observed by the author, who, during the course of her life, has had to communicate, advise, encourage, and counsel others who shared the same experiences over time. It is, therefore, not simply another book; rather, it is a work that could make a difference in the lives of readers in a timeless manner.

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DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to Ms. Bernice James, a retired Associate Professor of English—a friend and colleague in the teaching of English at Caribbean Union College (CUC), now University of the Southern Caribbean (USC), located in the lush Maracas Valley of St. Joseph, Trinidad. Her quiet spirit, humble demeanor, professional skills, critical insights, and deeply spiritual life over many years, have always been an inspiration to me.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is with pleasure that I acknowledge the contribution of my husband, Dr. Roy Israel McGarrell, Professor Emeritus and retired Dean of the School of Theology & Religion, University of the Southern Caribbean (USC), for his insightful overview of this material; also, Mr. Victor Hamakim, Academic Editor of the University of the Southern Caribbean, for his editorial skills and critical insights of this manuscript; and finally, but most importantly, to God, for making this publication possible.

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MAJESTIC DAWN

Not with noise and fanfare,

Trumpet calls and guns,

But with quiet, great demeanor,

Another morning has come!

No majestic splendor,

Color guards in uniform;

No rhythmic steps and drumsticks,

But quietly breaks the morn

Upon this dark and waiting earth,

And the welcoming ground.

O God of light and beauty,

Of power serene, yet great,

Please touch our lives each morning,

And crown each one with faith—

A faith to trust Your leading,

In what e’er the dawn may yield;

Faith to handle conflicts, sorrow, joys, and things

Unknown to us, as we Your presence feel.

Eternal dawn and glory

Will one day burst from above,

And we will bask forever,

In the glorious light of Your love.

—Shirley A. McGarrell

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INTRODUCTION

Morning—That Time Of The Day

Morning is that time of the day when nature is at her best. Rosebuds open into wide petals, multi-colored splendor, and fragrant glow. Dew drops glisten on green shrubbery with dazzling diamond-type iridescent light; artistically designed butterflies flitter from leaf to leaf on evergreen shrubbery; and birds sing in solo or chorus while perched in trees, or as they play the catcher-coup running on the ground, or as they fly from tree to tree. The sun is warm, yet cool, with a temperature that elicits comfort, healing, joy, hope, and cheer, while thesoft wind fans the cheeks of everything in its wake. Stolid palm branches dance to the music that this wind artistically plays as it serenades both nature and man. The atmosphere is