Walk Before Dawn

Surprise! It can be the very thing that refreshes our view of God in our days. Read on as Deborah Gregory shares why - and how we can experience surprise.

Elisa

Walk Before Dawn

Exploring Surprise

by Deborah Gregory

While American youth gathered in churches for all-night lock-ins, every spring my father rallied the youth of our Japanese mission for an all-night hike up Mount Asama. During my sister Kathy’s senior year, she looked forward to her last mountain hike and the electrifying joy of watching the rising sun explode across Japan while peering into the yawning mouth of an active volcano. But midway through, pain from an old injury flared through her hip, forcing her to stop and rest. As the group pressed on toward the summit sunrise, my sister and a friend sank against a rock in a canyon feeling dark with disappointment.

As the moon rose overhead, Kathy released her expectations of adventure and embraced stillness.

Some surprises are joyful. Other surprises are devastating. The seventeenth-century Japanese poet Mizuta Masahide illustrated the paradox of surprise in a famous haiku:

My cottage burned down.

I now own a better view

of the rising moon. 

Through the paradox of surprise, we are offered a fresh perspective.

At daybreak, an unexpected flood of sunlight spilled over a ridge and burst the canyon wall into flaming light. Tingles rippled up Kathy’s spine as radiance swallowed darkness. With renewed strength, she stretched and carefully followed the dewy scent of larch leaves into a verdant valley awash with crimson, yellow, and blue wildflowers. The breathtaking experience echoed the words of another seventeenth-century poet, Matsuo Basho:

How I long to see among dawn flowers the face of God.

Though Kathy enjoyed many mountaintop experiences, the surprising discovery of a beautiful mountain canyon at dawn bore a resemblance to the face of God that she will never forget—a face she has been chasing ever since.

Surprise is the most formational emotion. In their book Surprise, “surprisologists” Tania Luna and LeeAnn Renninger explain that the initial jolt of surprise amplifies other associated emotions by 400 percent, releasing a surge of intense feelings like elation, terror, bewilderment, or despair. The power of surprise upends expectations and strips away false beliefs about ourselves, others, and God. It also reveals hidden opportunities, fresh insights, and the wonder of God in unexpected places. The memory of surprising moments, like my sister’s, lingers for years with crystal clarity.

Walking at dawn is an exhilarating way to start the day with a sense of surprise. You don’t need to peer into a volcano to experience surprise; simply embrace the liminal space of dawn. Allow it to awaken your senses, focus your mind, and reveal something new. Daybreak holds a special numinous quality as creation unveils a new day—mist rises from the water like a shroud, fog blurs the sharp edges of treetops, bullfrogs croak their last goodnights, and trilling warblers greet the dawn.

Exposure to early morning light can help ward off depression by energizing your mind, lifting your mood, and brightening your perspective. Be mindful of the heightened emotions that arise with surprise and reflect on the assumptions that surprise seeks to challenge. Ask questions like What opportunity is here? What can I release? How might this experience nurture faith, hope, and love?

Take a walk in the morning light, observe the shifts in shadows, colors, sounds, and smells. Stay open and curious, for each transformation carries a surprise—an opportunity to witness and discover the emergence of something new and to chase the face of God among dawn flowers.

Adapted from Spiritual Wayfinding by Deborah Gregory. Copyright (c) 2026 by Deborah Gregory. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press. www.ivpress.com

Deborah Gregory is a spiritual director with a specialization in Ignatian spirituality, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, and the host of The Betwixt Podcast. She is the author of Spiritual Wayfinding. Her holistic approach to Christian formation bridges ancient wisdom and modern neuroscience. Drawing from her experience in a neurodiverse family, she champions inclusive spirituality and supports those navigating a neurotypical world. Deborah enjoys leading retreats, training spiritual directors, and exploring nature in Central Florida, where she lives with her husband and two daughters.