I am grateful for every day God sends my way. Each morning when I wake I perhaps make a dozen or so choices in that first hour. Some of them are simple while others may affect the trajectory of the next few hours of the day, perhaps even the whole day. Whether I experience a “good” day or a bad one, throughout much of the day I am in charge of what’s happening and how I’m feeling about it. Every day is filled with possibilities that allow me to choose or alter the direction I take.
Today has been a somewhat odd day, but I have learned to take these days in stride. I sometimes measure whether a day has been “good” or “bad” based on how much I accomplished in it. Using that particular yardstick I could conclude that this wasn’t a very productive or good day. I did manage to get my grocery shopping and a load of laundry done, but mostly I lazed around, even going so far as to take the unusual step of having a midday nap. I did get myself up and out of the house, which is a good thing, spending the late afternoon and early evening with my younger sister and her family. This was another decision point: I knew that I needed to get away from my home environs and connect with family to shake the gloom that had settled in on me.
I enjoy spending time with them–they have a very easygoing banter that bounces between the four of them and is entertaining to watch and periodically participate in. It was a good way to spend a few hours and I am grateful as always at such good care my sister takes of me. The last several times I’ve had dinner with her I’ve taken home a care package of leftovers that provide a second meal–either lunch or dinner this week. All three of my sisters are excellent cooks (apparently that gene is mutated in my DNA; I can cook but hardly consider myself excellent…) and I have been beneficiary of a number of delectable meals since I arrived here last fall. It is one of the perks of living close to the kinfolks–being able to break bread with them on a semi-regular basis. I have only had my one sister and her kids over for dinner one evening. Perhaps I’ll do a little more entertaining at some point in the spring or early summer. We shall see.
Every day when I wake I express gratitude to God for the day ahead. I will rejoice and be glad. Some days turn out great, some days I struggle. But I am grateful for them all, even the “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad” days. Each one is as a single thread woven into the tapestry of my life–difficult to see individually but part of the overall pattern. I want to live as best I can in the moment-by-moment give and take of each day, to be with whatever emerges, letting it arise and pass through rather than overwhelm me, and end each day as I begin it, with gratitude. That indeed is a day well spent and a life well lived.
