Miss Esther stirred and snuggled down farther under her covers. It was so very nice to stay warm and cozy when it was all dark outside…
Suddenly Miss Esther’s head came up and she looked quickly at the window. “What time is it? It’s so light out it can’t be 6:30am…”
Miss Esther reached for her tiny clock, held it up so she could see it’s round face and blinked as she tried to take in the numbers.
“8:10!” Miss Esther’s eyes widened. “Oh no! I’ve overslept!”
Miss Esther felt a wave of panic sweep over her. She was supposed to have had breakfast ready for her sisters ten minutes ago. Miss Esther set down the clock and was about to leap out of bed when she remembered something.
“Wait a minute!” Miss Esther raised a hand for emphasis. “Not that fast. This isn’t an emergency.”
Miss Esther took a deep breath and looked upwards with a reverent smile. “Good morning, Lord. It’s another beautiful day. Thank-You for being my Redeemer and my Rock. I pray that the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart would be acceptable in Your sight today. Thank-You so much. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
Miss Esther threw aside the covers and sprang out of bed. She reached for her red slippers.
“Now, let’s see…what verse shall I think about as I take care of breakfast?” Miss Esther sat back down on her bed and put on her slippers. “I know! I’ll meditate on Psalm 34:8: ‘O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.’ The Lord is always good – even on mornings that don’t go as expected!”
Miss Esther found her multi-colored shawl in her trunk and wrapped it about her shoulders. The air was still cool on these spring mornings.
Miss Esther made her way upstairs, her felt slippers making no noise on the book steps. When she reached the library, Cashew actually barked for joy.
“Good morning, Cashew!” Miss Esther gave him a happy smile. “How’s my favorite puppy today?”
Cashew licked his chops.
“Hungry? I thought so.” Miss Esther chuckled as she gave him a scratch behind the ears. “Thank-you for being so patient. Come, let’s get your breakfast.”
Miss Esther measured out the dog food and in moments Cashew was eagerly devouring it.
“It’s beautiful, Lord.” Miss Esther took a deep breath. “The sun comes up every morning, just as You designed it to. Truly, as it says in Psalm 34:8, You are good.”
The thought brought fresh peace to Miss Esther’s heart as she turned back to her kitchen. She reached for the granola.
“This is when I’m so thankful for back up plans!” Miss Esther set the jar on the kitchen table with a chuckle. “On days like this, breakfast can be ready in five minutes.”
She retrieved some bowls from the dish cabinet and then filled the tea kettle with water. She set the kettle on the stove. “Fortunately the water should boil quickly. Susanna likes to have tea with her breakfast. I wonder how she’s feeling this morning?”
Miss Esther had just pulled the milk and some strawberries from the icebox when she heard a step on the stairs. She looked up in time to see Priscilla enter the library, bonnet in hand.
“Good morning, Priscilla!” Miss Esther put the milk on the table. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, I did.” Priscilla set her hat on the rocking chair. “Susanna slept right through the night. Carrots was having some trouble this morning so I stopped to help. Sorry I’m late.”
“Late!” Miss Esther laughed and shook her head. “You’re in perfect time. I just woke up about five minutes ago.”
“I wondered…” Priscilla bit her lip, but her eyes danced. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”
“As bright as a daisy!” Miss Esther turned to grab some spoons and the skirt of her white nightgown swirled in a happy circle around her. “The Lord is good every morning.”
“So true.” Priscilla began filling a bowl with granola. “Susanna asked me to bring breakfast up to her. Do you remember what she likes on her granola?”
Miss Esther rubbed her forehead. “I think she likes a little extra honey. She’s not quite so keen on the chia seeds.”
“Ah, that’s right!” Priscilla added strawberries and honey to the bowl. “There! I’ll take this up to her and be right back.”