New Every Morning

I began visiting the Outer Banks of North Carolina in the early 1990s when I was serving as pastor of a church in Portsmouth, Virginia. A member of the congregation graciously invited my family to stay in a small cottage a few blocks inland in Kitty Hawk. I had only been to an ocean beach a handful of times, so the invitation felt like a gift—a chance to discover something new.

It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with the sunrise over the Atlantic. In those days, of course, taking photos required buying film and paying to have it developed, so I have no pictures from those early mornings. But the memories remain vivid: the quiet beach, the first light breaking over the horizon, and the sense of hope that always seemed to rise with the sun.

When cameras became part of our mobile phones, I began capturing those moments and sharing them on social media. I soon discovered that others enjoyed the photos as much as I did. Some told me that since they could no longer travel to the beach, my pictures brought them comfort. Others said the images added joy or hope to their day. I’m sure there are many more reasons, but those alone were enough to encourage me to keep taking them.

Although I don’t enjoy fishing myself, I love photographing surf fishers, people casting lines from the piers, and the fishing and oyster boats that move across the water at the break of day. Whenever I take those photos, I think of the first disciples who left their nets to follow Jesus and learned to “fish for people” instead. From time to time I’ve spoken with folks fishing from the pier about Jesus and his crew of fishermen. I try to be encouraging and accepting, remembering that Jesus meets each of us right where we are.

For more than thirty years now, I’ve returned to the Outer Banks twice a year, along with making visits to a few other beaches. I’ve included some of my favorite sunrise photos here. As I mentioned in my devotional, watching the sunrise—whether from the beach or from my home in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia—fills me with hope. The rising light reminds me that God’s mercies are new every morning, wherever I happen to be.